Love Isn't Always Easy
by lincky13
Summary: After the passionate kiss Hermione and Ron shared in the Chamber of Secrets, Hermione thought that she and Ron would finally be together. However, things have been awkward between them and not at all like she had expected. She doesn't know what to do, especially since she is getting ready to go to Australia and find her parents. Will they end up together or go their separate ways?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1:**

It had been a few days since the battle of Hogwarts. Most of the students and other staff members had gone back home or to be with their other family members. Those who no longer had anyone to go back to, were allowed to stay at the castle thanks to Professor McGonagall. Everyone was finally able to relax knowing that Voldemort would not be terrorizing anyone anymore thanks to Harry Potter.

Hermione was lying awake in her old dormitory at Hogwarts in Gryffindor tower. She heard Ginny's deep, even breathing next to her and knew that she was still sleeping. The two of them along with Harry and Ron had stayed at Hogwarts the last few days to recover from their yearlong hunt for horcruxes as well as from the major battle that finally came to end. The Weasleys had gone home just a day earlier and they promised they would come back to the burrow the next day. They had Fred's funeral to attend. That was going to be a very difficult day for the Weasleys.

After that Hermione's next step would be to find her parents and restore their memories. She knew they were somewhere in Australia and now that things were safe again, she could go ahead and bring them back home. She missed them dearly. The only question on her mind was whether or not Ron would be accompanying her.

Things between her and Ron had been slightly awkward since the battle had ended. They had shared that very passionate kiss down in the chamber of secrets because they had not known whether or not they would die before that night was over. It was spontaneous and wonderful and everything Hermione had hoped for. It just felt right when their lips met. It was like fireworks had gone off and she had never felt anything like that before. They had held hands when the battle was over and went to check in on their friends and Ron's family indicating to those who saw that they were together. But they never had the talk and they never specified that they were a couple. Hermione had figured that their hand holding and kiss implied they were together but she had been wrong.

That's why things have been awkward. Since the day after the battle, Ron has barely even looked at her let alone talked to her. It was like he couldn't even stand to be around her. He had started acting funny the morning after the battle. They had all been in the common room when at some point, both of them passed out on the couch and when they awoke, Hermione was curled against Ron whose arm had been wrapped protectively around her. Once they woke up, Ron just immediately got up, muttered something incoherently, and ran up to his and Harry's old dorm leaving Hermione, on the couch, confusion written on her face over Ron running away.

Harry and Ginny basically picked up right where they left off. They could be seen holding hands and just being around each other all the time. Hermione could tell that they really loved each other and missed being together for that year he had been gone. Wherever one of them was, the other was not behind and their faces always lit up when they saw the other, even if they had only been apart for two minutes. Hermione figured that is just what happens when two people are very much in love. It made Hermione jealous how easy their relationship was compared to where she was with Ron. She was determined to talk to Ron but she wasn't sure when would be the best time to bring it up. And he wasn't helping either by acting the way he was.

"Ugh" Hermione sighed as she placed both hands to cover her face in annoyance. That was when Ginny stirred and sat up rubbing her eyes before she looked at Hermione. "Oh, I'm sorry Ginny, I did not mean to wake you up." Hermione said apologetically.

"It's okay. I have been awake for about the past 2 minutes anyways and then when I heard you sigh, I figured you might need to talk to someone. I can tell from the look on your face that something on your mind is clearly stressing you out." Ginny said with a slight smile. She just happened to know Hermione very well.

Hermione smiled back as Ginny got up and walked over to Hermione's bed and sat down right next to her. Hermione sighed again. "It's just everything going on with Ron so I don't know if you really want to hear about it."

"Hermione I am all ears. I mean you have always been there for me whenever I needed to talk about Harry and I intend to do the same. Just please no details about the snogging. That is where I draw the line." Says Ginny with a serious look on her face.

Hermione can't help but laugh at this. That is definitely a sibling thing. "No worries. I won't tell you anything about that. But since that 'incident'," Hermione used air quotes around the word incident so that Ginny would know what she was referring to so she didn't have to actually say it, "in the Chamber of Secrets and after the battle, he's barely spoken to me yet alone even look at me. I don't know if you have noticed but you and Harry always sit next to each other or at least across from each other and just carry on as if you guys never even were apart. Yet with Ron, nothing and it is just so frustrating and confusing. I would say that we are together since we clearly held hands in front of everyone after the battle was over and now he just acts like nothing happened! I just don't know what to do anymore."

Ginny looked at Hermione with pursed lips as she noticed that her brown eyes were glistening with unshed tears. She put her arm around Hermione to provide her a sense of comfort before she spoke. "You know my brother is not the smartest tool in the shed. He's the idiot when it comes to girls especially as someone as beautiful and smart like you. I mean you remember when he was with Lavender…

"Don't remind me please." Says Hermione with some urgency in her voice, with a hint of jealousy.

"Sorry. Just trying to make a point. You are going to have to talk to Ron about everything and figure it out. Just sitting here thinking about it all the time is going to get you nowhere and probably drive you crazy. You both have been mad for each other for years and you guys shared a kiss when you realized you both might not live and wanted to let each other know how you felt. Now you both need to voice it."

Ginny made a great point. Hermione looked over at the girl she has known for the last 6 years. Well she wasn't a girl anymore. She has turned out to be a wonderful and smart young woman and witch who suffered a lot more than any normal person should. She seemed just as scarred as Harry is, except without the physical scar.

"Thanks Ginny! You always know how to make me feel better. It would just be easier if he actually acted normal" She leaned over and gave Ginny a tight hug as Ginny chuckled.

"Well make things as normal as possible then. Instead of just letting everything be awkward, be your normal, bossy self and maybe that will help Ron be his normal annoying self. And then once things seem normal, that's when you can talk to him. But I'm going to go ahead and take a shower before heading down to breakfast before we head back home." Ginny said as she stood up and grabbed a towel and bathrobe. She turned and smiled at Hermione as she made her out of the dormitory.

Hermione thought over what Ginny said and agreed that she was right. Instead of letting the awkwardness between her and Ron continue, she was just going to act like everything was perfectly normal between the three of them, or four if you count Ginny. Hermione got off her bed, and attempted to tame her brown bushy hair the best she could and got dressed.

Once she was dressed, she took a minute to look herself over in the mirror and gave herself a pep talk. Ginny had already left for the great hall so she didn't have to worry about embarrassing herself. "Okay, we are just going to go back to be completely normal. Like nothing has changed between us. If nothing else, I just want us to go back to being friends."

Feeling better and confident about herself, Hermione strode out of her dorm and headed for the great hall and as usual, Harry and Ron were already there.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey Everyone! Please leave me any reviews to let me know what you think. This is my first fanfiction. I do not own anything Harry Potter.**

 **Chapter 2:**

As Hermione strode into the great hall, her confidence started to waver with every step. Now that she was nearing Ron, it seemed it would be impossible to act normal. Ron and Harry both looked up at her as she took a seat across from them. Ron immediately averted his gaze back to his plate of food while Harry gave Hermione a smile and wave.

"Morning Hermione. Did you sleep well?" Asked Harry.

Hermione nodded. "Yes, thank you. How about you?" Harry nodded yes with a smile. She looked over at Ron who had not looked up since she took her seat. She took a quick breath. "Ron, how about you?" she tentatively asked.

Ron glanced at her briefly and said fine. Harry and Ginny both looked at her, Harry with a sad smile. Ginny looked hard at Hermione and mouthed "go ahead. Act normal." Hermione nodded at her friend, took another deep breath to calm the nerves she was feeling, and did what Ginny suggested. "Well, are you guys packed yet? We need to leave here before lunch to get back to the burrow."

Ginny responded that she was pretty much packed while Harry and Ron both said they hadn't packed a thing. That was when Hermione stepped right back into her mothering role, and ordered both of them to go straight upstairs and get their things together. When both boys made no move to leave, Hermione clapped her hands and yelled at them to get moving. Both Harry and Ron stood up right away and Hermione followed quickly behind them because she knew she would have to actually help them pack.

"I think she's gone mental again" Ron attempted to whisper to Harry as they made their way back to their dormitory. Harry stifled a laugh.

"I heard that Ronald Weasley!" Hermione snapped. Ron's face turned red from embarrassment as a small smile found its way to Hermione's face at his reaction. Finally some normalcy again to their friendship where she is bossing the two of them around because of course they are not prepared. Some things just never change.

Harry and Ron started their way up the stairs to their dorm when Ron turned around and told Hermione that there was no reason that she had to come into their dorm. Instead, she just brushed past him and opened the door to their room and stopped dead. The room was a complete and utter mess. They had literally only been here for four days and somehow, all their clothes and belongings were scattered everywhere.

"What the bloody hell?" Hermione couldn't help herself. Both Ron and Harry looked at each other and shrugged. "We've been here for four days! How could you both have possibly made such a huge mess? I mean you don't even have everything you own here and half of the belongings that you brought are still sitting in my beaded bag!" Hermione explained as she turned around to look at them in astonishment.

"It just happened." Was all Ron replied with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Well, you both have a lot of cleaning to do. So let's get to it." She said as she walked into their dorm.

Harry and Ron were able to at least organize what was theirs before Ron jumped on his bed and laid down placing his hand behind his head.

"Ron, what are you doing? You still have to pack your things." Hermione asked, a bit of irritation slipping into her voice as she placed her hands on her waist.

"Hermione, I just organized the room. I need a break." Harry looked at Ron with eyes that said 'what are you doing'? He was definitely going to feel Hermione's wrath for needing a break after just ten minutes.

"Oh Ronald, we are leaving in the next hour! Just give me your bag. We don't have time for this." Now you could hear the full irritation in Hermione's voice. Harry turned away so that he could smile. This was the Ron and Hermione that he was used to rather than the silent and tensed interactions that have been going on since the day he defeated Voldemort. Ron giving Hermione a hard time and Hermione not being able to help herself and constantly nagging Ron and in the end, always giving in and doing things for him that he can do for himself.

"Hermione I can do it. Just give me a minute. It's not like it's going to take me an hour to pack." Ron argued.

"Fine. I will give you 15 minutes. I will be in my room to get the last of my things together. If you do not have all of your stuff packed by then, then we will be leaving the rest behind." Hermione glared at Ron for a moment before he nodded at her. She took that as her cue that he understood and walked across the hall to her and Ginny's dorm.

Ginny looked up when she saw Hermione enter the room. "So, how is it going?"

Hermione sat down on her bed before she answered. "Well, their room is an absolute disaster. I will never understand how they could make that big of a mess in such a short amount of…"

"No, that's not what I'm talking about." Ginny interrupted Hermione. "I meant between you and Ron. It seemed like it was somewhat normal at breakfast."

"Well, Ron is still his usual lazy self. But yes, I finally feel a bit more relaxed and that a lot of the tension has already declined in the short amount of time. Hopefully, we are back on, as friends anyways." Hermione said as she looked down at her hands. "It's hard to tell though."

"Don't give up just yet Hermione. You haven't had any type of conversation with him. Your focus should be on being friends just so that everything will feel normal. Remember, you told me not give up when Harry was with Cho and I didn't and look where Harry and I are now. You can get there too. Just be patient." Hermione nodded. Ginny was right. She just had to get back on track with Ron first and then she can worry about everything else.

"Are you ready to go? It's about that time." Ginny nodded her head that she was. Hermione nodded to her as well and grabbed her beaded bag as Ginny grabbed her bag and they made their way across the hall to the boys' room. Hermione took a calming breath, hoping that Ron decided to get up and pack his bag. She opened the door and saw both of them sitting on their beds, placing the last few items into their bags. Hermione let go of a breath that she hadn't even realized she was holding. Ron glanced at her with a cocky smirk, knowing that he did actually get his stuff together. She just rolled her eyes at him.

"Are we all ready? We need to go see Professor McGonagall so that she can remove the anti disapparate charm from around the castle." Stated Harry.

"Why is that charm still up anyways? It's not like You Know Who is around anymore." Complained Ron as they made their way out of the common room.

"Well, she can't just leave the castle unprotected Ron. There are still death eaters out there. Most of them fled when Harry showed that he was still alive but that doesn't mean that they might not come back and attack." Hermione said.

"Oh, Right." Ron answered a bit annoyed. Sometimes, he just hated how smart Hermione was. He never would of thought of death eaters still coming back to attack Hogwarts. But he also envied her brain. It still amazed him how smart she is.

"Besides, I read in _Hogwarts, A History_ that castle has always had protections placed around it for the safety of students and teachers because there is always some force of evil that will try and penetrate the walls here. Just because Voldemort is gone, does not mean there are not others out there trying to follow in his footsteps." Hermione stated.

The four of them all made their way to the headmaster's office where Professor McGonagall was currently residing. Harry said the password and the revolving stairs started to move as the four of them each got on a step. Once they got to the door, Harry knocked and heard a "come in."

Professor McGonagall was sitting at her desk currently reading some paperwork when the four of them entered. She put the papers down and looked at them. "I guess the four of you would like to head out then?" She peered over her glasses at them. They all nodded in confirmation. "Very well. Just follow me outside onto the balcony."

They did as they were told and followed her outside. As soon as they were outside, McGonagall waved her wand and since she didn't say anything, she removed the charm non-verbally.

"Thank you Professor, for letting us stay here to recuperate." Said Hermione and Ron and Ginny nodded in agreement. McGonagall gave them curt nod in response.

"Yes thank you Professor, especially for giving me as much time as you could get me." Said Harry, with somewhat of a smile. Professor McGonagall looked at Harry and put her hand on his shoulder, smiling briefly, before giving a curt nod to him as well before she walked away.

Harry and Ginny paired up and disapparated together. Ron and Hermione looked at each other for a moment when Hermione reached out her hand to Ron's. He took it and they disapparated together and landed on the hill a few yards away from the burrow. As Hermione went to let go of Ron's hand to start walking towards the Weasley's house, she noticed that her hand was being tightly held on to by Ron and was pulled back.

"Ron, are you okay?" She asked nervously. She wasn't sure if he was hearing her since he didn't respond and was just staring at the burrow, so she moved in front of his face and looked into his eyes. She asked again and that seemed to get his attention.

"W-what? Oh, I'm okay. It's,it's this is my first time back home since, since, you know…" He looked down at his feet because he couldn't bring himself to say his brother's name and mention his death. Hermione took the hand that she was holding and kissed it softly, while she used her other hand to lift Ron's chin to get him to look at her.

"Ron, it's going to be okay. Harry and I are right here with you but your family does need you. I know this is hard but we'll get through it. I promise everything will be okay."

Ron gave Hermione's hand a squeeze as he said thank you. Unfortunately for Hermione, he let go of her hand after that and started heading for the house. He had only taken a few steps, when he turned around and asked Hermione if she was coming. She nodded and he waited until she caught up with him before he continued making his way to the house.

Hermione couldn't help thinking that even though they were no longer holding hands, it was again a start. He seemed to be acting normal again, or in this case as normal as someone who has to go back home to a grieving family. But her words of encouragement seemed to be enough to get him moving and their friendship back on the right track.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey! Here is the next update! Thanks to those that are following my story! This is a bit of a filler chapter. Please review and let me know what you think about the story so far. Again, I do not own anything Harry Potter.**

 **Chapter 3**

As soon as Ron opened the front door, both Hermione and he were smothered by a crying Mrs. Weasley.

"Oh my dears, I'm so happy you are back home." She kissed Ron on the cheek and patted Hermione softly on her cheek. Ron tried to smile at his mom but Hermione could tell that it was forced. After Mrs. Weasley released them, they made their way into the living room, where the rest of the Weasleys as well as Harry and Ginny were.

Ron made his way around the room and hugged his dad, Charlie, Bill, Fleur, Percy and then George. George looked dreadful. His eyes were all red and puffy. Ron and he hugged for a long time not saying anything. George was suffering the loss of his twin a whole lot more than the rest of the family. Hermione could not imagine what he must be going through. Fred and him had been inseparable from birth, were each other's best friends, and constant jokers. They always made everyone laugh. Wherever one of them were, the other was not far behind. Now it was like he was missing half of himself.

Hermione took a seat next to Harry after she had her quick hellos and hugs from the Weasley clan. Ron came and sat down next to her once he finished with them as well. Once Ron sat down, Mr. Weasley cleared his throat to get everyone's attention.

"Well now that everyone is here, we are going to, to bury Fred tomorrow." Mr. Weasley choked out. Mrs. Weasley had fresh tears rolling down her face as did George while the rest of the Weasleys just sat there as if they were in a daze. Hermione glanced at Ron and saw that he just had a blank stare on his face and was rubbing his hands together. "We have other relatives that will be arriving tomorrow as well as friends. We will have the service here at the house and it will be outside." Mr. Weasley drew in a breath, trying to calm his emotions as well as to keep the tears at bay. Hermione noticed that Ron had started rubbing his hands more furiously and without even thinking about it, that was when she reached out her hand and grabbed one of his. He stopped moving, shocked for a minute, and then looked at Hermione. Her eyes were glistening with unshed tears but she squeezed his hand to reassure him, to let him know that she was here for him.

"We will need to get everything done early tomorrow morning, like chairs set up, tables for food as well any flowers or gifts that we may receive. I think it's best if we all go to bed early tonight. It is going to be a very tough day for all of us tomorrow, so we might as well try and get some sleep." Mr. Weasley looked around at them all, as he stood up putting his arm around a balling Mrs. Weasley. "Harry and Hermione, I imagine you already know where you will be sleeping?"

They both nodded and Mr. Weasley nodded back and he turned Mrs. Weasley around and headed upstairs. The rest of them all just sat there, not knowing what to say. George got up after a few minutes and went outside without saying anything. Bill and Charlie looked at each other and then told everyone they were going to go outside and check on their brother.

"Come on, let's go to my room." Said Ron to Harry and Hermione. They both got up and headed upstairs to his room. As soon as they walked in, Ron just fell face first into his bed. "How am I supposed to get through tomorrow when it's already this hard with Fred being gone?" Ron mumbled into his pillow.

Hermione and Harry sat down on the cot that would be Harry's bed, and just looked at each other. They didn't know how to answer his question. How do you console someone who is grieving? There is nothing that you can say or do to make someone feel better but just be there for them. Hermione stood up and walked over to Ron's bed and sat down near his shoulder. She began to slowly rub his back. There wasn't much she could do but hopefully by Hermione rubbing his back soothingly, it would at least provide some comfort.

"Ron, Hermione and I will be here with you. And you have your whole family here." Harry started but didn't really know what else to say. That was when an idea popped into Hermione's mind that may help Ron handle this better.

"Hey, Ron. Look at me for a minute." Hermione stopped rubbing Ron's back and he turned over onto his side and looked at her. "Do you know what Fred would want most at his funeral?" She asked

Ron only shook his head no as silent tears slid down his cheeks.

"He would want everyone laughing and telling jokes. That is how he would want to be remembered. Heck, he would probably want people pulling pranks and using all the items that people could buy at his and George's store. His whole life was about pranks and jokes and…and" Hermione started to cry at this part remembering everything Fred was about and how much he enjoyed pranking people and making people smile. "Making people laugh. I think that's how you can get through tomorrow, knowing that Fred would want that. He would want his life to be celebrated rather than everyone mourning his loss."

Hermione looked at Ron as tears were spilling from her eyes and he was able to smile at her and she could sense a mood shift when she had finished speaking. She looked over at Harry, whose eyes seemed wet like he was crying too, but he nodded at her indicating that she definitely said the right thing.

"Hermione is right Ron. Fred and George's lives were dedicated to jokes and making people smile. They made a career out of it and became extremely successful. This is what he would want."

Ron nodded at Harry. He actually started to smile a bigger smile than before and seemed to finally relax since they had arrived at the burrow. "Yeah, you both are right. I'm going to make sure that I let everyone know tomorrow, remind them. And hopefully that will help George too."

The rest of the day passed almost in a blur. Harry, Ron, Hermione and eventually Ginny all ended up just hanging out in Ron's room, just talking about random things, anything to keep their minds off of tomorrow.

At around ten, Hermione and Ginny decided that they should probably head to bed. They had a very busy morning and overall a busy and emotionally draining day tomorrow. They should try and get as much sleep as possible. Harry walked Ginny out first, so that they could have a moment of privacy and so as not anger Ron with having to witness anything intimate that dealt with his little sister. Of course, he was okay with Harry and Ginny dating, but that didn't mean he wanted to see anything. Hermione stood up from the floor after a few minutes, figuring it should be safe enough to head down to Ginny's room when suddenly Ron grabbed her arm to stop her.

"Hermione, I…" Ron trailed off.

"What is it Ron?"

"I, I just want to thank you. For what you said earlier about Fred." Ron blushed. Hermione wasn't sure what to say so she just nodded. As she was about to turn away and leave, Ron grabbed Hermione again and kissed her quickly on the cheek. Once again, his face turned red as did hers. Then she walked out of his room and headed down to Ginny's.

Hermione wasn't sure what to think of it. Obviously, he kissed her because he was touched by what she said about Fred and nothing else. It definitely wasn't because they were maybe dating, right? But then again, he has never kissed her on the cheek before. It was just his emotions over Fred. It had to be Hermione thought.

However, Hermione's mind would not stop racing with these thoughts about why Ron kissed her. It wasn't like he kissed her on the lips or anything. It had just been a simple kiss on the cheek, that's it. Nothing more. But for her, it felt like more. She had had butterflies ever since and it made sleep almost impossible for her. She needed to fall asleep soon, so that she wouldn't be tired for tomorrow. She needed to be ready because all the Weasleys were going to need a full support system. After about another 10 minutes, Hermione's mind finally settled down and she fell right to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you to everyone who has followed this story and for the reviews! Here is the next update. It's the longest chapter so far!**

 **Chapter 4:**

Hermione was woken up by Mrs. Weasley letting both her and Ginny know that it was time to get up. Hermione looked at the clock and saw that it was 7:30. They had about four and a half hours until guests were to start arriving and five hours until the funeral was set to start. She stole a peek over at Ginny and saw that she was just going through the motions of getting dressed. Her face was just blank. Hermione didn't know if she should say something to her or just let her be.

Just as she was about to say something, there was a knock on the door and Harry walked in. Immediately, he went right over to Ginny and gave her a hug. That seemed to break Ginny out of her auto pilot mode. She just let herself fall into Harry and he just held on to her. She wasn't crying yet, and that in part had to do with the strength she was receiving from Harry. Feeling like she was intruding on a private moment, Hermione excused herself and left the room, shutting the door behind her.

Just as she was about to head downstairs, Harry opened the door and told Hermione to wait.

"I think you need to go to up to Ron's room." Harry said.

"Why? Is he still sleeping?" Hermione asked confused.

"No, he's up and dressed but I think he just needs someone to 'hold his hand' and give him some encouragement. I think you are the only one who could do that. That's why I came down here for Ginny. I just knew she would need some extra strength right now."

Hermione nodded at Harry and started heading upstairs to Ron's room. When she got to his door, it was slightly ajar, but she knocked softly anyways, before entering the room. As Harry had said, Ron was dressed in his black dress robes, his hair brushed back. He was just sitting on his bed, rubbing his hands together nervously. He didn't respond to the knock, nor did he look up as Hermione entered the room.

Hermione went over to Ron and grabbed both his hands with hers and that was when he looked and up and realized she was in his room.

"Oh, Hermione. I'm sorry. I didn't hear you come in."

"That's okay. Are you ready to head downstairs? Your parents will need our help." Ron nodded and stood, still holding Hermione's hands.

Hermione took a moment to study Ron's face, to see if she could read him. He, like Ginny, seemed to be on auto pilot. Hermione decided to copy Harry and hugged Ron. After a moment, she felt Ron snake his arms around her waist and squeeze her but not enough to hurt her. She could feel some of his weight though, as he was relaxing into her, gaining the strength that he would need from her, just like she saw Ginny do with Harry.

They stayed like that, wrapped in each other's arm for a few minutes before Hermione cleared her throat and started pulling out of the hug.

"Are you ready to go?" Hermione asked tentatively.

"Yeah, let's go." Ron answered as he went to walk out his bedroom door. Hermione sighed deeply, bracing herself for the day ahead. It was going to be difficult for the whole entire Weasley family as well as herself. Fred had been her friend through Ron and since she had spent a great deal of time at the burrow, she got to know him and think of him as a brother.

The first thing Mrs. Weasley asked the four of them to do was set up the chairs outside. Luckily, it was a beautiful day outside. It was sunny, with a light breeze that rustled the grass slightly and kept the temperature cool, but not cold enough for a jacket. Hermione, Ron, Harry and Ginny started moving the chairs around using the hover charm so that it was quicker and allowed them to move more than one at a time. They set the chairs in a circular pattern so that everyone who came would be able to see the priest, the pictures of Fred, as well as the casket.

It took the four of them about half an hour to set up all the chairs and then they helped Mrs. Weasley set up a couple of tables closet to the house for the guests to leave notes, flowers, or anything they might leave. The rest of the family was scattered about cleaning and setting up the front of the funeral, like the podium for the priest and those who would be making speeches about Fred's life. They also set up a few tables that had refreshments such as soda, crackers, and cheese.

After all the tables and chairs were set up, Mr. Weasley, Charlie, Bill, and Percy, all worked together to set up two giants tents around the funeral area and the gift and food tables. It was to help keep everyone cool and to help everyone see and not have to deal with the glare from the sun as it was very bright. It seemed odd to Hermione that it was such a beautiful day out, not a cloud in the sky, yet this day was to be spent mourning the death of a beloved son, brother and friend.

Just before noon, the first few guests arrived and suddenly, Hermione could feel the emotional tension that began as soon as the Weasleys greeted those first guests. It seemed to hit them all at that moment. Harry and Hermione's jobs were to assist the guests to the seating area. Since the actual funeral wasn't set to begin until one, those who wanted to go to the casket, were allowed. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley decided it was best for them, as well as George to go ahead and take their seats because after the service, the procession line would begin, and that would be when they would greet their guests.

At one o'clock, almost all the seats were full, with a few guests who were standing in the back. Hermione and Harry were allowed to take their seats, which were right behind the Weasleys. The priest took his place at the podium and began. Hermione could already see that Mrs. Weasley was sobbing and Mr. Weasley put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close she immediately rested her head against his shoulder. The rest of the family just had their heads down. George was the only one who kept his head up and slightly tilted to the right to stare at the picture of Fred by the casket.

After about 15 minutes, the priest invited Mr. Weasley up to the stand, who said his piece about his son, and how much they loved him and would miss him but he died fighting for what he thought was right and with a smile on his face. When he came back, he tried to get George to go up there and say something about his brother, but George just shook his head. Mr. Weasley looked at the rest of his kids to see if anyone wanted to go up there and say something. That was when Ron stood up and walked to the podium.

"I just want to thank everyone today for coming." Ron started seeming a bit nervous and also emotional. He seemed to take minute and then looked out at the crowd before he found Hermione's eyes. She looked at him and gave him a small smile and nodded at him to continue. That seemed to give him the strength and bravery to continue.

"Fred was quite the jokester since he and George were little. And being their younger brother, I tended to be the guinea pig for all of their pranks." Ron gave a small smile and got the crowd to chuckle at that. "He lived everyday hoping to make someone laugh. That was always his passion, even if it came at somebody's expense, like my own, when he gave me a puking pastille, telling me that it was a new type of candy he and George had just concocted. I may not have laughed, but my friends did as well as theirs."

Ron paused a moment to try and hold himself together. Tears had started sliding down his cheeks as he was telling this story and he was struggling to maintain a steady voice. Almost everyone was crying now as they laughed at his story. Hermione was holding onto Harry's arm as tears were streaming down her face.

"I'm going to miss him a lot and it won't be the same without him. I'll miss his smile and his laugh and seeing him and George together, constantly scheming. But I know for a fact that my brother would want us to celebrate his life and make jokes, not mourn his death. He lived for smiles and laughs, and I, I t-t-think we owe it to him, t-to do so and that, that is how I will remember him and how everyone else should to." Just as Ron ended his speech he threw his hand up in the air and something flew right out of it. And then loud pops started and everyone looked up to see fireworks going off.

Hermione and Harry looked at each other astounded. They had no idea Ron had planned to let off fireworks or anything at all but it caused them to laugh as well as everyone else with some awes in there. Hermione glanced at George who was sobbing but had a crack of a smile on his face as he watched the fireworks. At the end, the last firework was a huge silhouette of Fred with his signature smile. Even though everyone had laughed and watched the fireworks in awe, when Fred's face appeared, there was no longer a dry eye in the yard, if there even had been one before.

After that, the Weasleys all lined up by the casket to receive condolences from all the guests that had come. It took well over two hours for all the guests to go up to the Weasley family. Hermione was standing with Harry by the refreshment table when Ron finally made his way over. Harry gave him a quick hug and then Hermione gave him a hug too.

"Ron, that was incredible. The speech and then the fireworks." Harry said still in awe.

"Thanks. I took to heart what Hermione said last night about celebrating Fred's life rather than mourning." Ron looked shyly at Hermione, whose cheeks were starting to turn red. "Just before the funeral began, I snuck into Fred's and George's room searching for anything and I happened to find one of their fireworks and then I charmed it so at the end, you would see Fred." Ron said. "I had originally thought to mention it to someone to join in on it but I don't think anyone would've been okay with it."

"It was absolutely perfect and brilliant Ron. You did great." Said Hermione. Ron cracked a smile before he grabbed a plate to eat some food before he walked back over to his family and other relatives.

Hermione couldn't help thinking just how great Ron had done and how his speech had seemed to lighten everyone up. Of course, everyone was still upset but the fireworks and talking about how Fred would want his life celebrated seemed to allow everyone the freedom of actually smiling and remember just how Fred was. The hardest part of the day other than the actual service was after when Hermione watched Charlie walk over to George, who had been standing at Fred's casket the whole afternoon and slowly pulled him away. It broke Hermione's heart as George sobbed into Charlie's shoulder, his eyes already red and puffy from crying almost all day, his hands clearly digging into Charlie's back as he held onto his older brother. Mrs. Weasley and Ginny also broke down when they saw how George was and they went over to comfort them.

Hermione just couldn't imagine what George was going through. Losing your brother, and your twin, someone who had always been right by your side since birth, and now they were gone but you were still here. It would take a long time for George, she imagined, to be able to recover and put himself back together. She knew he would never fully heal but eventually every day will become easier until you just learn to push through the pain and carry on.

After all the guests left, the Weasleys, with Hermione and Harry cleaned up the backyard and brought in the leftover refreshments and the gifts left behind. After that, they all ate dinner quietly and by eight, everyone had gone to bed, emotionally drained from such a taxing day.


	5. Chapter 5

A couple of days after the funeral, Bill and Fleur were the first to leave. It was time to get back to their cottage as well as work. Charlie was next. He had to get back to Romania. He promised his parents that he would try and visit more often. Mrs. Weasley was a wreck as each of her children left. She would hold onto them tightly as she sobbed her goodbye. She understood that everyone had to go and that they had jobs they had to get back to but she just loved having her family all under one roof again.

Percy was the last to leave and that seemed to affect everyone the most. During the Battle of Hogwarts, he apologized to his family for choosing the ministry over them and he had been there when Fred had been killed. His family had welcomed him back with open arms which was why it affected everyone the way it did when, a day after Charlie left, Percy announced he was leaving too. Everyone gave him a long hug and of course Mrs. Weasley cried in his arms. They were a combination of happy and sad tears.

By the end of the week, it was only Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, George, Ron, Ginny, Harry and Hermione. Everyone was still surprised that George was still here. They had thought he would have gone back to Diagon Alley to his joke shop, where Fred and his apartment was on the top floor. Hermione figured it was just too hard for him to go back to their apartment. It was the only place that was truly his and Fred's and since his death was still fresh, it probably was too hard for him to even consider going back. And considering he hadn't left his room much at all since the funeral spoke volumes.

Hermione and Harry tried to convince Ron to go and talk to George to try and get him to talk. It didn't have to be how he was feeling or anything like that but Ron refused. He claimed that he wouldn't know what to say to him because his thoughts would be all about Fred and he feared he would upset or even anger George more. Eventually, Harry and Hermione let it drop. When Ron was ready, they knew he would talk to him.

The following Monday, Hermione woke up to Ginny shuffling around in her room.

"Oh, I'm sorry Hermione. I didn't mean to wake you." Ginny said apologetically.

"No, it's fine. It wasn't you. I just woke because I was dreaming about my parents. I've actually sort of forgotten them with everything going on here." Hermione said, as a few tears escaped down her cheeks. She hadn't realized that through everything going on, her parents were still out there and had no idea who she was. She missed them dearly and she needed to go and find them and restore their memories.

"Oh." Ginny said surprised. "That's right. You erased their memories and made them move to another country so they wouldn't be targets during the war."

Hermione just nodded her head. "Yeah, and I've got to go get them and restore their memories. I should probably do that soon." Just as she finished speaking, Hermione got up and grabbed her clothes to get dressed. She decided she was going to go tell Ron and Harry she was going to leave in two days to go and get her parents. She didn't want to put that off any longer.

Twenty minutes later, Hermione was sitting on Ron's bed, with Ron next to her and Harry sitting on his cot.

"I'm going to leave in two days to go and find my parents. I need to restore their memories, so they remember me and can return home now that everything is safe again."

Ron's body seemed to stiffen at her statement and Harry looked from her to Ron and back. She looked at Harry and glanced at Ron. They both just sat there not saying anything until Harry sighed and spoke first, since Ron didn't seem like he was capable of saying anything.

"Hermione, do you want us to go with you? To help you track down your parents. I'd be willing to go and help you since you have always done the same for me." Harry asked.

Hermione looked at Harry and noticed that he said it genuinely, but his eyes betrayed his voice. His look told her that he didn't really want to go and he was hoping she would say no. And she knew exactly why he said what he did and why his eyes gave him away. It had only been two weeks since they stopped running and found their way to Hogwarts. They had spent almost a year of hiding and running and hunting for horcruxes. Then Harry died and once again survived the killing curse. Voldemort was now dead and he finally had freedom that he had never had before. If she agreed, she knew that Harry would go with her and not say a word about it but she wouldn't do that to her friend.

Hermione gave him a slight smirk before answering. "Harry, I appreciate that so much. But I won't ask either of you to come with me. This isn't a life or death situation like it always has been. You needed us and we wanted to help you, but this is different. This is a personal adventure rather than a life or death situation."

Harry nodded in understanding as his eyes showed relief. Ron stilled hadn't said anything and his body was still stiff as a board. Hermione looked at Harry in question and Harry just shrugged. Hermione knew Harry really well, probably better than he would think, and knew that if he didn't know exactly what was wrong with Ron, he would have a vague idea.

"Ron, are you okay? You haven't said anything since I came in." Hermione asked and she instantly regretted asking because as soon she asked, Ron stood up, his face bright red as he began yelling at her.

"Hermione, you can't just go off to Australia all by yourself to find your parents. You Know Who might be dead but there are still death eaters out there, like you mentioned and you don't know exactly where your parents are. It would be like finding a needle in a haystack with how many people live wherever your parents are currently." Ron stopped to take a breath as he was pacing in his room. "I mean the battle just ended. We've barely had time to really relax…"

"Ron, stop right now." Hermione cut him off. He stopped pacing and looked at her. "I don't care that the war just ended or anything. These are my parents we are talking about. I miss them terribly. You've been surrounded by your family since the war. I haven't had that luxury because my parents are muggles and can't protect themselves with magic like yours can. I needed some way to keep them safe and now that it is safe, I'm going to go find them." Hermione took a breath to try and calm herself down. She realized that she had become as angry as Ron is.

Ron sat down on the cot next to Harry and he looked like he was about to say something when Hermione put up her hand to tell him not to say anything. After another brief silence, she looked up at Harry, who had just sat there quietly through their two outbursts, looking at anything but her and Ron. Then she looked at Ron who was just looking at his hands.

"Ron, if you don't want me to go alone, then by all means you can come with me. But like I told Harry, I am not going to ask either of you to come because I don't expect you to. I understand that we all just got back from running for the past year for our lives and although this isn't exactly the same thing, again it will require more running in a sense trying to figure out where my parents are."

Ron looked up at Hermione. Hermione was now looking at her hands. She couldn't look at Ron as she finished what she said. She was scared of his answer. She was scared that he was going to say that he won't go with her when she really did want him to go. But she wouldn't ask him to go. She had too much pride.

"That's beside the point Hermione. It's still dangerous out there. I just think you should wait." Ron said quietly.

"And how long am I supposed to wait? We haven't heard of anything happening since Voldemort's downfall. The safest time to go is now." Hermione said.

Nobody said anything for a few moments. They wouldn't really look at each other either. Finally Hermione stood up and excused herself saying that she was going to go get something to eat and she would talk to them later.

It was the day before Hermione was set to leave and Hermione, Ginny, and Harry were in Ginny's room as Hermione finished packing up her belongings. Harry filled Ginny in on what happened yesterday with Ron and Hermione's outbursts at each other after Hermione told them that she was leaving.

"Wow. He's really upset about you leaving Hermione. It sounds like he wanted you to ask him to go with you." Ginny said.

Hermione scoffed. "Well that is not happening. I will not ask Ron or Harry to help me with this. It's not life or death like I've said. We just finished running and hiding two weeks ago. Plus, Ronald is an adult and he can make his own choices. If he wants to come with me to help me than he can, but I will not ask."

"Hermione, don't you want him to go with you though? I mean I know you guys haven't talked about it, but you guys are together. That is also why he blew up earlier. He doesn't want you to go. Other than a few summer holidays, the three of us have never really been apart and more so, you two have never been apart either." Harry said.

Hermione looked at Harry surprised. "What, what…?" She stopped talking to glare at Ginny. The only way Harry would know about her and Ron and any type of conversation she wanted to have would because Ginny told Harry. Hermione glared at Ginny and Ginny just shrugged.

"What? I couldn't help but tell him. It's not like he didn't already know the both of you have had a thing for each other forever." Ginny said defensively although her cheeks did turn red at being caught.

Harry laughed as Hermione sighed and started laughing as well. She should have figured Ginny would tell Harry.

"Yeah come on Hermione. You remember sixth year just as well as I. I was there when you needed to talk about Ron and let's not forget about Slughorn's Christmas party and who you decided to invite it based on who would make Ron the most jealous." Harry said laughing as Ginny joined in Hermione just turned red and gave Harry a disapproving look for bringing that memory up.

Hermione then told Harry and Ginny that again she was not going to ask. It was true that they hadn't had a chance to have a conversation about where they were but that wasn't going to stop her from finding her parents. She reiterated that Ron was an adult and could make his own choices. The conversation hopefully would come at some other time.

Later that night, Harry and Ron were lying in their beds, talking about quidditch and trying to figure out what game to go to, now that they didn't have school and didn't need Ron's parents to be there. After a few minutes of silence Ron spoke.

"Hey Harry, why didn't Hermione ask us to go with her? I mean the three of us have always been together and we go everywhere together. I just don't understand."

"Well to be honest, I'm glad that I don't have to. I always felt like since I was 11, I've been running and hiding. And I know it's not the same situation with her because she's looking for her parents, but I don't know. I think she knows that we wouldn't want to go and didn't want to bother us with it." Harry said.

Ron groaned. "I just hate that she's going off on her own. I mean she might need help. She just shouldn't be so bloody proud." Ron said angrily.

"Then go with her. Help her. I know she would want that. She might need help although she would never admit it." Harry said to Ron.

Ron just sat there on his bed thinking. He didn't say anything back. It's true that she might need help and even truer that she would never admit that she would need someone's help let alone his help of all people. He was just really conflicted about the whole thing. He didn't want to leave the comfort of his home again but he didn't want Hermione to leave either. He didn't want her to go off on her own as well but he knew he wouldn't be able to change her mind. She was very stubborn once she made up her mind about something and that was one of the things that Ron really liked about her.

It was the next day and Ron was in his room looking out his window when he heard the front door open and close. He leaned a little closer to his window and saw Hermione with Harry and Ginny. She gave them both hugs and waved as she started walking away from the burrow.

Ron crossed his arms. He was upset and angry that she was leaving. He saw Harry and Ginny turn around to go back inside and she just kept walking farther away from the burrow and him. He couldn't believe that she was actually leaving.

"Bloody hell." Said Ron angrily as he turned away from the window.


	6. Chapter 6

**Here's the next update. Thank you to those that have followed my story! Hope you like this next chapter and please review!**

"Are you sure you have everything that you will need?" Ginny asked Hermione as she made her way to the front door of the burrow.

Hermione nodded. "Yes, I packed everything up last night and anything I used this morning, I put straight into my bag."

"Do you know where you are going? How to get to Australia from here?" asked Harry.

Once again Hermione nodded yes. "I studied the maps of Britain and Australia last night so I would have some type of route to follow. It will take about two days or so to get to Australia anyways."

"We will miss you Hermione." Said Ginny as tears began to slowly slide down her cheeks. Hermione said she would miss them too as she hugged Ginny tightly. She then let go of Ginny and gave Harry a hug as well. He gave her a tight squeeze before they broke apart.

"Stay safe Hermione and try and send an owl or two to let us know how you are doing and when you find your parents so that we know you are alright. And if you need anything, please let us know." Harry said seriously.

Hermione could tell that he meant every word and would do anything to help her. He was so sweet and such a great friend. "I will. Is, is Ron coming down? Is he awake?"

Both Ginny and Harry glanced at each other before Harry took a deep breath. "He didn't want to get up but he wishes you luck."

Hermione just nodded her head trying to swallow the lump that had formed in her throat listening to Harry explain why Ron was not there to say goodbye.

"Well, I should get a move on." Hermione said, trying to keep her voice emotionless.

Once again, Harry and Ginny gave her another hug goodbye and well wishes once they were outside. Then Hermione started to walk away and Harry and Ginny, waved goodbye as Ginny continued crying silently, already missing her friend. Harry placed his arm around Ginny's shoulder as he waved goodbye to one of his best friends.

Hermione wiped away the few tears that managed to break free. She was trying really hard not to cry, to be strong. She was the one who told both Harry and Ron not to come with her. She tried to convince herself that these tears were because she was just going to miss her friends but she knew better. She was sad because Ron was not coming with her, he didn't even bother to get up and say goodbye, and that they hadn't had that conversation about where they stood.

They had moments were she felt like she was his girlfriend, like the way he seemed to need her during Fred's funeral. But then, they seemed almost indifferent the rest of the time. That is what frustrated her the most. Not knowing whether he wanted to just be friends or if he wanted more. She knew that she did.

Suddenly, Hermione heard loud steps coming quickly behind her. Her heart started beating fast in her chest as she steadied her wand in her hand. She didn't know who it was, but they were coming up fast and she wasn't taking any chances. There were still death eaters out there and she was far enough away from the burrow that is could be anybody.

As Hermione got ready to spin around and use the stunning spell, stupefy, to stun whoever it was, she heard Ron say her name.

"Hermione wait!" He yelled.

She spun around and stopped walking. She watched as Ron ran to catch up to her. As soon as he got close, he stopped and was gasping for breath. She was surprised to see him.

"Ron! What are you doing?" She asked.

He put up his pointer finger, asking her for a moment to catch his breath as he bent over panting, placing his hands on his knees. She rolled her eyes at him. He was acting like a he ran a marathon when he literally ran only about 30 yards from his house. She was just past the hill where she would be able to apparate. She crossed her arms and starting tapping her foot, letting him know she was getting impatient waiting on him to tell her why he was there. She was trying to stick to a schedule.

"Hermione, I-I can't let you go by yourself. I want to go with you." He said, not looking at her.

Hermione's heart starting beating faster and she had butterflies in her stomach. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Ron said he wanted to go with her!

"Are you sure? I'm not sure how long this will take to find them. It shouldn't but I don't know." Hermione asked tentatively. She wanted to make sure that he understood they could be gone for a while so she tried not to get her hopes up as she waited.

Ron finally looked up at her and said "Yes Hermione. I want to go with you. It might help find your parents quicker if you have some help."

Hermione couldn't help herself. She gave Ron a huge smile and jumped into his arms for a hug. He decided to come with her all on his own. It would be easier to have someone with her too. After a moment, Hermione let go of Ron and blushed as he did the same. They still quite didn't know how to react to each other yet.

Ron cleared his throat. "Well, we better get going."

Hermione nodded and they started walking the short distance where they could apparate. Ron asked her if it was possible to apparate from England all the way to Australia. She told him that it was not, that you could only apparate so far before you appeared somewhere in the direction of where you wanted to go. It meant that they would have to do side by side apparition quite a bit in one go in order to cover some ground. It would be easier as well to do side by side so that they could stay together and not worrying about losing each other.

They finally reached the point where they could apparate. They both stopped and Hermione looked at Ron and held out her hand. "Are you ready?" She asked.

Ron nodded as he grasped her hand and within seconds they disappeared. They disapparated for an hour before finally, they both had to stop. They had taken turns being the one to lead each other to each destination. The one who was being pulled into apparition with the other one could only take so much before they would feel dizzy or sick. Ron had actually gotten sick once after the first couple apparations. It was a lot of for both of them. Hermione was surprised that she hadn't gotten sick yet either.

They continued to do this for most of the day until it got dark. They had made it all the way to London before they decided they should stop for the night. They made their way to a hotel and when they made their way to the desk, Hermione found herself wondering what to do about rooms. Should she just get one room with two beds or two separate rooms? She turned to Ron feeling her face already heating up and asked him.

"Hmm, probably best if we share a room. With two beds of course." Ron said nervously as he looked everywhere but at Hermione. "This way whenever you are ready to leave you can just wake me up."

Hermione nodded and told the receptionist that they needed one room with two beds. After about ten minutes, she went ahead and paid for the room and Ron and Hermione made their way to the room. They both got themselves settled and took showers before they ordered some food to eat. For the most part, they were both silent, not really talking.

For Hermione, it seemed rather odd not having Harry with them. Ever since they had been 11 and at Hogwarts, it had always been the three of them together, getting in trouble, or trying to stop Voldemort or even just hanging out. She and Ron had never spent any real time together, just the two of them. Even in the summer, when she would go to the burrow before the start of the term, she would only be there for a couple of days before Harry showed up. At school, they were always surrounded by their fellow classmates or housemates so it was never really just them. Of course, this scenario was different because they were on somewhat of an adventure so not having Harry there made her feel different.

As if Ron was reading her thoughts, he spoke up. "It's weird isn't it, not having Harry here with us? It's almost like we are missing something."

"I was just thinking about that actually. The three of us have always been together and this is really the first time he hasn't been around." Hermione looked at Ron who nodded in agreement with her.

"Well at least we aren't running for our lives this time. I feel as though we've been running for years." Ron said with a slight smirk.

"Technically, we have been for the past six years, hahaha. It's nice to finally realize that we will be okay." Hermione said, still laughing along with Ron.

Slowly, their laughing faded and they fell back into a more comfortable silence. After about five or so minutes, Hermione told Ron that she was going to go to sleep. She wanted to get up early tomorrow to continue their journey. Ron nodded and asked if she could just wake him up when she got up. She agreed and they wished each other goodnight and turned the lights out. It didn't take long for either of them to fall right asleep.


	7. Chapter 7

At 9:30 am, the alarm clock on the night stand started going off, waking Hermione from her sleep. Sluggishly, she rolled over and turned it off. She then rolled onto her back and just laid on the bed for a couple of minutes, having a silent argument with herself about getting up. She knew that she needed to get up and get herself ready to go and had to make sure Ron was ready.

As she sat up, she looked over at Ron, who was still sleeping on his bed, his mouth slightly open, as he snored somewhat softly. 'He looks so peaceful, sleeping there', Hermione thought. She had almost forgotten just within the last few weeks that Ron always snored in his sleep, but amazingly enough, it wasn't a loud snore that would make it difficult for anyone who was in the same room with him to fall asleep. It was soft and quiet but just loud enough to hear if you were close enough.

Hermione shook her head at herself and went to the bathroom to get herself dressed and ready. She figured it would be easier if she got herself all settled before attempting to get Ron up. It was going to be a fight to actually get him up out of bed but once he was up, he would only need 10 minutes to change and pack whereas she needed more time.

As she entered the bathroom, she was upset to see her hair sticking out all over. She attempted to brush it down so that it wasn't as bushy as it always was and she did use a little bit of the frizz-ease bottle that she had bought in Diagon Alley last year to try and help tame her lion's mane. After about five minutes, her hair seemed to be as good as it was going to get. It wasn't as flat as she would've liked but it was the best she was going to get today. Then she changed into her clothes and brushed her teeth.

Once she was ready, she walked over to Ron's bed and started shaking his shoulder gently. When she realized, he wasn't waking, she started to shake him harder.

"Ron. Ron. Come on you need to get up. We need to get going." She said as she was still shaking him. He moved slightly beginning to wake but not fully waking yet. She was expecting this, but nonetheless, she started to get annoyed with him and lost her temper.

"Ronald, wake up!" She shouted.

Ron's eye flew open as his hand flew towards his wand on the nightstand and he sat up straight immediately, his wand right in front of her face. Hermione took a step back, surprised at how he reacted and scared that he was about to curse her. Ron blinked his eyes a few times before he seemed to register where he was and looked at Hermione, realizing that she was the one who yelled at him and caused him to wake up in such a panic.

"Blimey Hermione, you didn't need to scream in my ear. You're lucky I didn't curse you." He said rather grumpily as he placed his wand back on the nightstand as his shoulders relaxed from the tensed state they had just been in.

Hermione crossed her arms and stared at him in anger. "Well I wouldn't have had to yell if you were easier to wake up. We need to get going." She replied. She couldn't believe that he was mad at her. He was the one who wouldn't wake up and he had asked her to wake him up. What else was she supposed to do?

"Alright, just give me like five minutes and we can go."

Ron got up, which surprised Hermione because she had thought getting him out of bed was going to be more of a challenge but she guessed that scaring him awake had done the trick. She was thankful that she didn't have to fight with him.

Once Ron was ready, they headed downstairs to the café and grabbed a quick breakfast, since it was free for staying at the hotel. They ate mostly in silence and when they were done, they headed over to the reception desk to check out and then headed outside. Hermione and Ron walked to the side of the hotel, where they hoped they would be hidden from any muggles so that they could apparate away from here. Just as Hermione reached out her hand for Ron's, Ron asked her a question.

"So, where exactly do we go from here?"

"Well, as you know, we can't apparate all the way to Australia from here which is unfortunate. We will have to take muggle transportation, like an airplane, which is the fastest way to and from one place to the next. I know an airport that is a few hours from here. It's Gatwick airport. We'll probably be better off spending another night in Gatwick to recover from all the apparating that we will do but then we can catch an early flight tomorrow."

Hermione glanced at Ron, who just looked at her in confusion. "What is an airplane? I've never heard of that before."

Hermione tried very hard to stifle the laugh that came up but failed miserably as Ron looked at her with an irritated look. She could not believe he did not know what a plane was. It took Hermione a good two minutes before she was able to contain her laughter so that she could answer Ron, and his face had turned red from his annoyance and anger at Hermione for laughing at him.

"Sorry. A plane is a type of muggle transportation that takes you from one place to another, especially when it is a long trip and you can't or don't want to take a car or train. It can cover a lot of miles in a very short amount of time. For example, when we take the Hogwarts express to school, it takes about six hours for us to get to Hogwarts. If we took a plane, it would probably only take us about two to three hours. I'm surprised you don't know what they are. They have had to fly over your house in the sky when you were out and about?"

Even though Ron didn't live around muggles, the sky was open to use for anyone as well as an unending road for any type of aircraft. There had to have been planes that flew over his house to get to their destination so he should have seen them, even though he didn't have a name for them up until now after Hermione just told him what they were.

"Wow, that's fast. So if it's not a train or a car, exactly what is it and how does it go so fast? And no, can't say that I have ever seen one nor has my dad mentioned them."

This time Hermione was able to contain the bit of laughter that tried to escape. "Well, a plane flies through the air, similar to what your dad's car does, except they are much bigger and faster than that flying car. They can hold up to 100 people and some other aircrafts that are bigger are able to carry a larger capacity as well."

"That is just crazy and unbelievable especially because there's no magic involved. I mean magic is what made my dad's car fly but muggles have their own ways of flying without magic? Wow." Ron said with fascination. "I never would have believed that."

Hermione couldn't help herself this time and let out a small laugh at Ron. It was a bit funny to Hermione just how much Ron didn't know about muggles but also, he was like his father more than he would probably admit, because all things muggle did interest him as well.

Ron just gave Hermione a slight glare for laughing at him before he grabbed her hand and they disapparated away from the hotel to begin their journey to Gatwick.

This time, Hermione and Ron took their time in between apparations, because they were in no rush. Also, it would help them each to have a few minutes to recover. They made sure they stopped for lunch as well in order to recharge and also because Hermione knew that Ron wouldn't be able to go all day without eating and how grumpy he could be if he didn't eat.

Finally, around 7, and after eating dinner at a small diner, they had arrived in Gatwick.

"I don't have much muggle money with me, so I figured we could just spend the night in the tent so that we can pay for the plane tickets tomorrow. Those are not going to be cheap either, especially because we will be looking at last minute tickets." Hermione told Ron as they walked into a wooded area, away from the small neighborhood that they had apparated too.

"Tent? Where are you going…" But before Ron finished his sentence, he saw Hermione remove that beaded bag from under her sweatshirt where it had been hiding. "Of course, I should have known" Said Ron shaking his head with a small smile on his face. He should have expected that Hermione would have thought of everything including some place to stay in case they couldn't stay in a house or somewhere else.

"Brings back some memories doesn't it?" Hermione asked, chuckling lightly as she gave a quick wave of her wand and the tent was all set up.

"Yeah, just a few. Mainly about you, Harry and I living in this tent for the past year on the hunt for horcruxes while in hiding from death eaters, snatchers, and You Know Who" Said Ron as he made his way inside, Hermione following right behind him.

The rest of the night passed with the two of them just relaxing, talking here and there about nothing important until Ron started to doze off. Hermione got up off the chair she was sitting in and made her way to the bed that she had slept in when they had been in this tent hunting horcruxes. Although this time was much different.

Hermione had still put the same enchantments around the tent as she had done their journey for horcruxes, just to be safe. But they weren't on the hunt for horcruxes or trying to hide. They were on their way to Australia to find her parents and it was just her and Ron. No Harry. Honestly, she was really thankful Ron ended up coming with her. He made her feel safe, even though she knew she was perfectly capable of handling herself. But it was nice to have someone with her and it was even better that it was Ron. For the most part, everything had been going well between them. There hadn't really been any awkwardness between them and he wasn't ignoring her.

Of course, all those lingering questions of where they stood with each other were still running through her mind but so far, there hadn't been a proper moment to bring it up to discuss it. Not only that, but she figured this would be one of those conversations that would need to be in private and it wouldn't be short. Ron has never been great at talking about his feelings but hopefully, when it came to the two of them being together, he would be willing to talk about it and they would be together. That is what Hermione was thinking about when she finally fell asleep.


	8. Chapter 8

Hermione and Ron were both up with the tent packed up by eight. Hermione had wanted to get an early start to the airport since she hadn't bought tickets beforehand. She wasn't even sure if they would be able to fly today depending on if there were any flights that were flying to Australia and if they had any seats available. She hoped there were because she was anxious to find her parents. She missed them dearly.

They disapparated to the airport and when they arrived, they were almost caught by some muggles because Hermione hadn't been sure of where the safest place would be to appear. Luckily, she didn't have to perform any charms on them as she watched them just shake their heads and continue doing whatever it is that they were doing.

Hermione and Ron walked into the airport and went right over to the ticket counters. It took Hermione a minute to decide which would be the best place to fly into since she wasn't exactly sure where her parents were currently living. She had only modified their memories to forget her and that they wanted to more to Australia right away. They could literally be anywhere and Australia is a very large country. Eventually, she decided it would be best to get their tickets into Sydney. They were also the cheapest. They were also lucky enough to get tickets for a flight that would be departing within the next hour, so at least they didn't have to wait around all day or tomorrow for their flight.

As they walked away from the ticket booth, Hermione suddenly came to a stop right before the entrance to the security checkpoint causing Ron to bump into her.

"Bloody hell, Hermione. Why did you just stop walking?" asked Ron.

"Ron, you have never flown before right?" Hermione asked, a hint of nervousness creeping into her voice. She looked up at Ron who nodded at her. She leaned her head back in frustration of how exactly where they going to get through security with her beaded bag and their wands. She wasn't sure if the x-ray machine would show all the things in her bag, or if it would just show some of the smaller items. They might be able to get their wands through, assuming the muggles just think they are fake wands and that her and Ron are just weird people who like to pretend they could use magic.

"Hermione, what is the issue? We need to get going." Ron said breaking through Hermione's train of thought. Our flight is leaving soon and this line is not getting any shorter." Ron said crossing his arms waiting for Hermione to start moving again.

"Ron, we have somewhat of a problem." She glanced at Ron, afraid to see his reaction. He kept his arms crossed but he raised his right eyebrow at her, questioning what was going on. She had no choice but to tell him what the situation was. "This line that we need to go through is a security line, where they use machines to see through bags and have these detectors that we have to walk through that if you have any type of metal on you, will make the alarm sound, indicating that the employees here have to check you to make sure you aren't carrying anything dangerous. Also, by being able to see what's in our bags, they can tell if we are taking things that aren't allowed on the plane with us or again if it is deemed dangerous, they would confiscate it from us."

"Oookayy." Ron said obviously not understanding what the problem was. Hermione took a deep breath to try and calm the anger that was quickly rising to the surface at Ron's indifference. She had to remind herself that he has never really been out in the muggle world and all of this is new to him.

"Ron, we might end up having our wands confiscated as well as my beaded bag here because I'm not sure if that x-ray machine is going to be able to see everything that is in this bag. That means they will most likely discover magic when they reach into my bag and pull out a whole bunch of things, one of those being a tent. And then we could be arrested, which means being put in handcuffs and placed in separate rooms." Hermione said seriously watching Ron's reactions. Then she saw the reaction she was waiting for.

"What do we do Hermione? We can't let that happen. How do we get through without our wands being taken as well as your bag since you are the one carrying who only knows what in that bloody bag of yours? Ron asked with an edge to his voice.

At this point, Hermione had already figured out what they would most likely have to do. They would have to use an _**unforgivable**_ curse. She didn't like the idea very much, but they were going to have to use the one that wasn't the worst of the three and it's not like it would hurt anyone. And if they somehow got caught, they could get in some serious trouble from the ministry. Once her mind was made up, Hermione grabbed Ron's arm and dragged him away from security for a minute so that they had more privacy from any eavesdroppers.

"We'll have to use the Imperius charm on them. You're going to have to do it on one of the employees and I will have to use it on the other. The one guy at the x-ray machine to that he believes he's not seeing anything out of the ordinary while the guy by the metal detector will have to believe the same thing. We don't have anything on us that would make the detector go off, but we need to make sure he doesn't try anything when he sees our wands."

"Well, this isn't what I thought we would have to do. It's an _**unforgivable**_ curse Hermione!" Ron said a little exasperated. Just as Hermione was about to open her mouth and probably start an argument, Ron quickly cut her off. "But I understand why Hermione. We need to do this so that we can through without any issues so I'll do what we have to do. It's not like I haven't had to use that curse before."

Hermione thanked Ron and completely understood is his slight resistance to having to use the curse as she herself, didn't want to use it either. They quickly made their plan about how they were going to go about it. It was going to be tricky, but they were going to have to hold their wands underneath the sleeves of their shirts to hide them. Hermione decided at the last minute, they should just hold onto their wands, as it will be easier to use the spell on the two employees they needed to if they kept their wands on them.

Right as Hermione's and Ron's bag were about to go through the x-ray machine, Hermione rose her wand arm up and slightly pointed it at the employee seated at that machine and quietly used the Imperius curse on him. She could see it worked by how he suddenly slouched a bit in his chair. She made him believe he was seeing nothing but a normal bag with a phone, wallet, and keys in there. Ron, who had got in line before her, pointed his wand arm as inconspicuous as possible toward the employee next to the detector, and used the Imperius curse on him as well before using a quick spell, to disable the detector from going off in case their wands for some reason set it off.

Within a minute, they released the two employees from the curse, put the detector back on, and grabbed their bags without a hitch. But they didn't waste much time just standing around. They hurried off to their gate just in case anyone noticed their weird behavior or if there happened to be other witches or wizards who had seen them. They could still be sent to Azkaban for using that curse.

They found their gate and sat down to wait out the next fifteen minutes before their flight would begin boarding. Ron's leg was bouncing up and down in nervousness. Hermione figured it was nerves about being on a plane for the first time and possibly being surrounded by muggles.

"How long is this flight?" asked Ron.

"It's a whole day's worth." Said Hermione cringing because she was worried about how Ron would respond to that. But she didn't have any reason to worry because all Ron did was nod.

Finally, their plane began boarding, and after five minutes, their group was called up to board the plane. They got on and they found their seats. Hermione explained a few things to Ron about the plane, the seatbelt, and a few other things. He seemed eager to see how this machine would be able to fly and lucky enough for him, he had a window seat so he could watch out the window and see how high this plane would get.

When the plane took off, Ron seemed like he was a little kid, totally fascinated by the plane and how it was able to fly into the air. He was smiling so big, seeming so carefree. He loved how high the plane was, surprised that it could even go this high, above the clouds, and was just sailing in the sky. It was amazing he said to Hermione, who just smiled at him and told him that it was.

Eventually the fascination wore off the longer they were on the plane. They both knew it would be a long journey and they needed to keep themselves entertained as well as comfortable, since most planes are not very comfortable unless you're in first class. Ron tried to convince Hermione to play wizards chess with him, since he brought it with him, but she told him they couldn't because they were surrounded by muggles. He got mad at that, mostly because he was bored, and Hermione said the best thing to do on planes is just to sleep, it makes the time go faster especially for a long flight. But if he didn't want to sleep, then he would have to find a non-magical way to keep himself entertained as Hermione pulled out a book for herself to read.

After a while, both of them ended up drifting in and out sleep sometimes being woken up by the flight attendants if they wanted any food or drinks, which they did get since they would need something to eat being on a flight for a whole day. Other than that, they both just went back to trying to sleep or finding ways to keep themselves busy.

Twenty two hours later, they landed in Sydney, Australia. Both couldn't be happier to be back on the ground and be able to stand up, stretch their legs, and breathe fresh air when they got outside of the airport. They both just stood out there for a minute, enjoying the sun and just standing, because their legs as well as other parts of their body had gotten quite sore from sitting for such a long time.

"Okay, Hermione, how long until we get to your parents' house?"

Hermione looked over at Ron with a confused expression. "Well, I'm not sure. I don't know where they are. They could be anywhere. I picked Sydney because this is the capital of the country and I figured it was the best place to start."

Ron looked at Hermione in question and she watched as his hands formed into fists, turning his knuckles white. "What do you mean you don't know where they are?" He asked, his voice rising in volume.

"It means that I don't know where they are Ron. They could be anywhere in Australia." That was the wrong thing to say Hermione thought as soon as she said it, watching as Ron's face began turning bright red as a sense of dread washed over her. This wasn't going to be good.


	9. Chapter 9

"HOW COULD YOU BLOODY NOT KNOW WHERE YOUR PARENTS ARE HERMIONE?" Ron yelled at her.

Hermione looked around her and saw that some people were watching them and even a couple of people had actually stopped in surprise at Ron's outburst. She quickly became embarrassed and was sure that her face was giving her away, as she felt the heat of the blush rushing to her cheeks, turning them a light pink.

"I MEAN WE CAME ALL THIS WAY TO GET THEM. I'VE BEEN SURROUNDED BY MUGGLES AND I THOUGHT YOU KNEW EXACTLY WHERE TO GO BUT YOU ARE JUST TELLING ME NOW, THAT YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHERE THEY ARE? I MEAN BLODDY HELL!" Ron said as he threw his hands up in the air in frustration.

At this point, Hermione had heard enough from Ron and was not comfortable with the amount of people that were now standing around them, watching their exchange behind whispering hands. Hermione gritted her teeth as she grabbed Ron by the arm and pulled him rather roughly away from everyone. This was not the place for this argument to be happening, especially since quite a large group of onlookers had gathered around to watch the scene unfolding before them.

"Hermione, let go of me!" he said while trying to pull his arm out of her grip.

"Ron, just shut up!" She whirled around on him as she said it sticking her pointer finger right in his face. His eyes went crossed eyed as he focused on the finger positioned right in front of his nose, before he brought his eyes up to hers. Her face must have showed Ron just how angry she was because he did shut up and just let Hermione pull him to wherever she was taking them.

They crossed the street of the airport toward the public transportation area that they could take out of the airport. Hermione let go of Ron as they got to the bus that was waiting. She paid the small fare and took a seat right by the door. Ron begrudgingly sat on the seat opposite her and crossed his arms mumbling incoherently under his breath. She didn't care that he was still mad and probably just as mad about the fact that she had yet to give him an explanation. What he didn't seem to realize was she was just as mad at him too for his outburst in front of all those muggles or even potential wizards. She had never once told him that she knew where her parents where. He was acting completely mental and it been quite mortifying.

As the bus pulled up to the second stop on its route, Hermione noticed that it seemed to be a very small area and that she could see woods through the rows of houses. She figured this would be a good place to get off and they could make their way to the woods and finish this fight that Ron decided to start. It would be better if they could stay away from muggles and even any potential wizards too, for their safety and the safety of the magical world.

Hermione got up as the bus came to a stop and Ron followed suit and they got off the bus. Ron seemed as though he was going to say something but Hermione didn't give him the opportunity as she continued walking in the direction of the woods. Once they made their way through a good distance in the woods Hermione spun around so fast, Ron bumped right into her, causing both of them to stumble a few steps before they regained their balance.

"Hermione, what are we doing here?" Ron asked grumpily.

"Well I couldn't let you keep running your bloody mouth in front of all those muggles and yelling at me too. I mean seriously Ronald. You were being a complete arse!" She said crossing her arms.

Ron ran his hand through his hair before he spoke. "What did you expect Hermione? I mean you come out of nowhere to tell me that you don't know where your parents are and just thought I would be fine with it? I thought you knew where they were and you were just going to get them…"

"Never once did I say I knew where they are Ron." Hermione said as she interrupted Ron. "I have consistently stated that I need to _find_ my parents, the key word being find."

"I just don't understand." Ron said shaking his head in disbelief. "I mean you erased yourself from their memory and made them want to come and live in Australia but didn't send them to a specific town? I just didn't know that this would be a wild goose chase."

Hermione just shook her head, her eyes filling with slight tears at Ron's words. "I didn't ask you to come with me Ron." She bit out at him. "You could've stayed home, with your parents and family and not be on this "wild goose chase" you just called it." She said, using air quotes. "You can even leave now if you wanted. I can find my parents on my own." She said as tears started to roll down her cheeks.

She decided that she wasn't going to let Ron see her cry over him, so she turned around and started walking back towards the neighborhood, wiping away the tears.

"Hermione, wait." Ron said as he ran to catch up to her and took hold of her arm to stop her from walking away. "Look at me, please."

Hermione did what he asked and turned around, trying to keep her emotions in check.

"I'm sorry, okay. I didn't mean it to sound as bad as that did. I was under the impression that you knew where they were and this would be like a few days trip and then to realize that it wasn't going to be quick and easy just surprised me."

Hermione furrowed her brows as he spoke. "Ron, again, I didn't ask you to come. You chose on your own to come with me. Why would you come with me if you thought this was just going to be a few days? I can take care of myself."

Ron smirked slightly at her words because he knew well enough that she could handle herself better than he would be able to. She had basically taken care of him and Harry for the past seven years, not that he would ever admit that to her. As to her question, he wasn't sure what the answer was. "Well, I just figured it was best if you didn't go alone. I know that you can take care of yourself but I, I wanted to be with..be there for you." He stuttered at the end of that thought.

Ron wasn't quick enough to cover up his little slip like he thought he might have been. Hermione heard him say with, which must have meant he wanted to be with her. Her heart fluttered at it and she had butterflies in her stomach. She mentally told herself to calm down since he did try to cover it up. She glanced at him from under her eye lashes, and saw that he was looking at her.

Ron cleared his throat and looked away when he noticed Hermione was looking at him. "So are we good?" He asked tentatively as he slipped his hands into his pockets, kicking at a rock on the ground. Hermione looked at him and nodded.

"Yeah, let's find a visitor center so we can take a look at a map of the city, or even grab one so we can find someplace to start."

"Brilliant." Ron replied with a smile, glad to know everything was okay as he grabbed Hermione's hand and she apparated them back into the center of Sydney.

They spent the rest of the day searching all over downtown Sydney, hoping they would come across her parents. They went to several neighborhoods, looking into windows, trying not to get caught by the owners or look suspicious to any of the residents that happened to be outside. It wasn't easy and every once in a while either Hermione or Ron would say a spell to keep them hidden from prying eyes.

Unfortunately, they had no luck in finding her parents. Hermione was a bit upset but she reminded herself this would take more than one day. She was just anxious about seeing her parents and restoring their memories and in the reunion of being together again. As it began to get dark, they took out the tent and decided that would be it for the day.

They were sitting at the table eating some of the food they had grabbed from a mini mart when Hermione noticed that Ron kept glancing at her every minute or so. She didn't know why and was starting to get annoyed because she felt like he was watching her, so she called him out on it.

"Ron, why do you keep looking at me? Do I have something on my face?" She asked letting annoyance slip into her tone.

"No you don't. I was just thinking about…" Ron stopped talking for a moment as he started to rub his hands together, something that Hermione has picked up on. He tends to do that when he is nervous and she is curious as to what he could be nervous about. She tilts her head to the side waiting for Ron to gather the courage to ask his question.

"I'm sure I already know the answer but I just feel like I need to ask." He said, no longer looking at her. "Was, was it difficult to remove your parents memories of you?"

Hermione's eyebrows shot up in surprise at his question. It wasn't what she was expecting him to ask but it made sense with how nervous he was to ask. It was a very personal and emotional question.

"Yes, it was very difficult for me to do it but I knew I had to for their safety. I wasn't going to take any chances especially when there were many muggle murders happening. It was the hardest thing I ever had to do. Watching myself disappear from the photos is engrained in my memory forever because it felt like I was literally watching myself disappear even though I was still there." Hermione choked up a bit at remembering this memory. "You have no idea how hard it is to take away the memories from someone who means so much to you. It hurt to know that my parents wouldn't remember they had a daughter." At this, tears finally escaped and started cascading down her face.

It had been so hard to for her to come to the decision to erase her parent's memories of her. She had been battling with it for days going back and forth about what was the right thing to do and the safest thing. She knew that she would be a person of interest to Voldemort and the Death eaters by her association with Harry as well as the ministry with the hearings that were currently going on, dealing with magical muggleborns. She had even made a pros and cons list to help her make her decision.

She had kept her parents in the dark about most of the new happenings in the wizarding world. But eventually, she decided it would be in the best interests of her parents to remove her from their memories and make them want to move out of England where they would be safe. Ron reached over and grabbed her hand, rubbing his thumb over the back of it in a comforting motion. It seemed to give her some courage.

"That's why I suppose I didn't even think to give them a particular place to move to. I was so caught up in watching myself disappear that I couldn't handle it and once I added that they wanted to move, I just needed to leave or I would have given them their memories back. So I left and you know the rest. That's why I don't know where they are. I never gave them a specific place to go. It just never crossed my mind." She finished quietly.

"Thanks Hermione, for telling me." Ron said, his voice thick with emotion at hearing what Hermione had to say. He held on to her hand for another minute before he let go and stood up. "I think I'm going to get some sleep. I'm exhausted."

"Yeah, good idea." Hermione responded as she quickly wiped away the tears that had slipped down her face talking about her parents. As she got herself settled into her bed, she heard Ron's slight snoring, already having passed out once his head hit the pillow. She hoped they would have better luck tomorrow. They still had quite a bit of Sydney left to explore and then they would have to move on. After having that conversation with Ron, her heart ached at her parents' absence. She hadn't realized how much she really missed them and how hard it had been to take their memories. The one saving grace, was that they were safe, she was safe, and she could bring them back home and restore their memories.


	10. Chapter 10

**I just want to give an appreciation to all of those that have followed, favorited, and reviewed this story! Thanks for sticking with it. You guys are awesome!**

They spent two more days searching all over Sydney for Hermione's parents with no luck. It was exhausting and quite difficult searching all over and not always knowing where to go. Hermione had expected it would be difficult to find her parents and knew it could take a long time, but now that she was here, it was hard to remain patient and calm. She could tell that Ron was also starting to get frustrated, although he was doing his best to remain confident and happy. Even though it had only been three days, it felt like a week had passed since they had arrived in Sydney.

At the end of the third day, after they made camp at Prospect Nature Reserve, just outside of Sydney, Ron was lying in his bed while Hermione was sitting at the table studying the map of Australia, thinking about what their next move would be.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Ron asked Hermione. She turned to look at him and saw that he was now sitting up, looking at her waiting for an answer.

She sighed before answering. "I'm just thinking how stupid I was by not giving my parents a specific town to move to when they moved here. I was just concerned with making sure they forgot they had a daughter, changed their names, and made them want to move here and not once did I think that I should've told them to move to Sydney or Perth. It's not like I expected to come here and just run right into them but Australia is just such a big country and it took us a whole three days just to go through most of Sydney." Hermione threw her hands up in the air, full of frustration and anger at herself for not thinking this whole thing through. How could she have been so stupid to not have planned this whole thing better?

"Hermione it's okay. I'm not going to lie but yeah, this is hard. Much harder than I originally thought because I would've expected you to know where they are. But we will find them." Ron said encouragingly

Hermione just nodded at Ron, who went back to lying down on his bed. Hermione remained at the table, still trying to figure out where her parents would have gone when they came here. She racked her brain searching for anything her parents could have said to her about where they would go if they travelled or decided to move.

That was when the lightbulb clicked on for Hermione. "Of course, why didn't I think of that already?" She said out loud as she slapped her hand to her forehead.

Ron turned his head toward Hermione. "What?" He asked.

"I've been so stupid. My parents are dentists, and I may have erased myself from their memory and made them want to move to Australia but I didn't take away what they do for a living. They would most definitely continue their careers as dentists." Hermione said smiling at Ron.

However, Ron didn't quite get what Hermione was saying. "Okay…so?"

"We just need to get a phone book or directory that has the names of all the businesses around or even people's names and addresses and if I'm right, their names should be on there and that will tell us exactly where they are!" She said excitedly. "So even if we don't find the office where they work, we should be able to track them down by finding their names!"

"Brilliant Hermione. Now where do we go to find this directory?" Ron asked as he got off his bed and went to stand by Hermione.

"Well, we would probably have to go to a town hall to find it. We will have to do this for every city we travel through because there isn't just one directory for the whole country and even if there was, it would be a huge book considering it would have to hold over a million names in it."

"We should get moving then!" Ron said rather enthusiastically.

Hermione looked at Ron skeptically, wondering why he seemed to be in such a chipper mood all of a sudden. It's not as if they found her parents yet. They could still be weeks or possibly even months away. They had basically scoured through Sydney already and Hermione highly doubted that they would show up in the directory. But she did have some hope that they may have easily just missed them.

Hermione watched as Ron went over to his bed and grabbed his backpack off the floor and headed toward the entrance of the tent. He stopped right there and turned to look at her. "Are you coming? Let's go find this town hall." He said as he pointed his thumb towards the outside.

Hermione couldn't help herself and let a small grin show on her face as she moved to get up from the table. She thought Ron was just being really cute by how eager he was to get going. She knew that he was just being this way because it meant that their search might be over sooner rather than later but she pushed that thought to the back of her mind. She didn't want to think negatively right now about Ron's eagerness. She too was filled with hope that she will see her parents name in this directory.

She grabbed her beaded bag on the way and as soon as they were both out of the tent, she waved her wand and took it down and put it back into her bag. They didn't want to risk leaving it in case some other wizards came across it on their travels and took away the only place they had to stay, or if muggles found it, which would be even worse. She then called the map of Australia out of the bag and took a minute to study it before grabbing onto Ron and disapparating to Sydney's town hall.

"It's closed." Was the first thing Ron said as soon as they appeared in front of the town hall, his shoulders slumping in defeat. "Now what do we do?" he whined.

Hermione couldn't help the glare that she gave Ron. She was shooting daggers at him as she made her way to the door, and simply said "alohomora," her eyes, never breaking contact with his. The lock clicked and Hermione turned the knob and opened the door. She turned back around, hands on her hips, looking at Ron, whose face had gone bright red from embarrassment. As he started towards her, she could hear him muttering under his breath. She just shook her head as he headed inside. She just couldn't comprehend the fact that he didn't think that they could still get inside the building just because it was closed. They were wizards for crying out loud! This reminded Hermione of that time seven years ago, where her, Ron, and Harry were running away from Filch's cat in the third corridor and got stuck in front of a locked door. Both of them didn't know how to unlock the door and thought they would be caught when Hermione, pushed them both aside and unlocked the door with the spell that was in one of their spell books.

"Lumos." Said Ron and Hermione simultaneously to help them make their way through the hallway. The hallway was short and within a minute, they found themselves at a desk and luckily, sitting upon the desk was the directory. Ron took out his deluminator and clicked it, allowing light to fill the room, so that Hermione could read the directory more easily.

Hermione quickly flipped through the book until she got to the section that started with W. She had also changed her parent's names when she erased their memories so if Voldemort or his Death Eaters had tried to find her parents, the name change would help to deter them. She scanned through all the last names that started with WI and unfortunately, there were no Wilkins listed.

She turned to Ron and said "No luck. They aren't listed here so we will still have to move on."

"Okay, so we should just move on then. Where to?" Ron asked and Hermione could tell he was trying very hard to keep the annoyance and disappointment out of his voice. She couldn't blame him for being disappointed. She was also feeling the same. She was hoping they would get lucky.

"The next place I believe they would most likely live would be Melbourne. It will take probably all night to get there. It is pretty far from here so we can either stay in Sydney for the night or make our way to Melbourne. What do you want to do?"

Ron thought about it for a moment and decided it was best if they went back to set up camp again and take the night to rest up for tomorrow, since it would take all day to get to their next destination. Hermione agreed and they both apparated back to their original camp spot and got the tent up. Once they went inside, they both went right to bed.

Hermione was hoping for better luck in Melbourne. Now that they had more of an idea of the best way to find her parents, it meant shorter stops in each city, but also meant that they could end up travelling more often, which would be very psychically draining. It had already been exhausting traveling just through Sydney for the past three days, looking for her parents. The prospect of having to apparate long distances almost every other day would be physically taxing on the both of them. Hermione was determined though. She was not going to give up. She was going to find her parents and she had a positive feeling about Melbourne.


	11. Chapter 11

They woke up the next morning and packed everything up and immediately took off for Melbourne. It would take them most of the day to get there, so they didn't try to rush. They took their time and made sure they gave themselves a few breaks to recover from apparating so much. They also made a couple of pit stops to grab some food, mainly for Ron, since he was always complaining about being hungry.

Around six at night, they finally made it into Melbourne. Hermione looked around and felt like she was home. It reminded her a lot of what London looked like, tall buildings looking out over everything and even at this time of night, still bustling with people. She felt like this would be the best place to find her parents. If she felt safe and like this was home, then surely her parents would've felt the same way if they were here.

"How much further until we reach the town hall? It is somewhere close to here?" Ron asked.

Hermione took the map out of her pocket and looked over it a moment, while Ron looked at it over her shoulder. "There, it looks like it just a few blocks away from where we are." Hermione said, pointing to spot only a few feet away from where they were currently. "I'd say we should just walk the few blocks, if you're okay with that? I don't think I can handle any more apparating tonight."

Ron just nodded in agreement and they started off. The closer they got to the town hall, the quieter it became as there were less people milling about outside as it began to get later in the evening. They were probably all headed home for the night. It gave off the impression that once the work day was over, the business part of the city was closed for the night.

After about twenty five minutes of walking, they finally arrived at the town hall. Again, all the lights were off, and there was a closed sign hanging in the window of the main door, but this time Ron did not ask what to do. Instead he went right over to the door, took a quick look around to make sure no muggles were watching and unlocked the door. He held it open and waited for Hermione to go first.

Once inside, Hermione went right for the front desk and unlocked the door right next to it in order to get to the book that had to be back there. She found it within a minute and instantly started flipping through the pages right to the W's.

"Yes, there are two persons listed in here as Wilkins! One of them could be my parents!" Hermione said, beaming.

"That's great Hermione!" Ron said coming over to her and giving her somewhat of a weird one arm hug. Hermione didn't know how to react and it seemed neither did Ron as he just started stuttering and quickly removed his arm from around her shoulder and moved a couple of feet away from her. She scribbled down the addresses of the two Wilkins that she found and then they made their way out making sure to replace the directory back in its original position and locked both doors.

As they were heading toward a safe area for them to camp for the night, Hermione couldn't help but compare her friendships with Ron and Harry after that awkward hug Ron had given her. Harry had always been like the brother she never had. He cared for her, made sure she was alright and was genuinely happy for her when she was happy. He never had trouble showing any kind of affection towards her, even though they both knew it was out of sibling love for each other rather than actual love. Nothing was ever awkward between them and they got along quite well.

But for Ron, it had always been difficult for them to have that type of an easy relationship. He always made fun of her for being smart and constantly going to the library, or when she was being bossy, he would call her mental. He seemed like he always wanted to pick a fight with her as they were constantly fighting, mainly while they were in school. And he never really showed her any type of affection which made her question whether he felt anything for her like she did for him.

It was just odd to her how Ron and Harry were so different. Granted, she never felt a thing romantically for Harry but even friends can show affection towards each other. Ron just didn't seem like he wanted to or when he did, it was awkward and uncomfortable like it had been just ten minutes ago. It was clear he was happy for her at the prospect at finally finding her parents and wanted to show her that but he second guessed himself and it just became weird. _Boys are just so confusing,_ she thought to herself, shaking her head.

They ended up finding a place to camp not far from the first house that they would be checking out. They made sure they grabbed some food from a local store so that they had some food to eat before they decided to hit the hay early. It had been a long day for them and tomorrow they might just find her parents. She couldn't wait for tomorrow.

Hermione tossed and turned all night, barely getting any sleep. She was restless and excited and nervous about the possibility of being reunited with her family. So finally, around five am, Hermione gave up trying to sleep and just stayed awake. She turned on her side and rested her elbow on the bed, resting her head on her hand and looked over at Ron, who was slightly snoring.

He just looked so at peace sleeping, not a care in the world. His face was void of worry lines as he slept, his red hair covering part of his face, and she imagined that he was probably dreaming of playing quidditch with Harry or eating some lavish food that his mom made, since that always seemed to be what was on his mind when he was awake. In some other part of her mind, she secretly hoped that he was dreaming about her.

Throughout the last few years, Ron would constantly plague her dreams. She had always chalked it up to him just being annoying, and because of that he would of course be in her dreams. But by her sixth year, and after him and Lavender began their relationship, she realized that she had always like Ron as more than a friend, and had slowly started falling in love with him. She tried to deny it but then when he started acting protective of her in the past year, she fell completely and the kiss in the chamber sealed the deal for her. And then everything after that, leading her to this moment, watching him sleep, thinking about her feelings and his actions lately, made her rethink everything.

Hermione shook her head to clear her thoughts and got up off her bed. This was not the time of day to be thinking these thoughts. She should get ready for the day and focus on her parents. She quickly got herself dressed and grabbed her book that contained the spell she would perform on her parents and looked it over for probably the one hundredth time to see how she would have to do it so that she could properly restore their memories. It was a very tricky and complicated spell, and even though she had looked it over quite a bit, she still wanted to be absolutely sure she knew what she was doing when the time came.

Finally, Hermione became impatient waiting for Ron to wake, so she woke him up and told him to get ready. He fought with her a little bit, refusing to get up right away, wanting to continue to sleep. She stood her ground and kept ripping his covers off until, rather grumpily, he dragged himself out of bed and got himself dressed.

They quickly apparated to the first place and peeked through the windows to see if anyone was home and although it was still rather early, it seemed as though it was empty. They still took their precautions and checked their surroundings to make sure no one was watching as they made their way to the back door and let themselves in.

"So what are we looking for?" Ron whispered to Hermione as they tip toed through the kitchen heading for the living room. "Especially since it doesn't seem like anyone is home. Do we need to wait for them to return?

"No, we don't actually need them here to know if it is my parents. We just need to look for some pictures. That will probably be the easiest way to determine if this is them."

As they entered the living room, right in front of them was a fireplace and the mantel above it held a few pictures. Hermione's heart rate picked up as she neared the mantel. She was nervous and excited all at once and she tried to calm her breathing and remain calm. There was no point in trying to get her hopes up in case these people where not her parents. She reached the mantel and took a deep breath before she looked up at the pictures. The pictures were not of Hermione's parents.

Tears started pooling in her eyes at the disappointment. She tried to hold them back and made herself remember that there had been no guarantee that these people who shared the same last name she had given them would be these particular people. She wiped at the few tears that escaped as Ron's arm snaked around her shoulders, gently squeezing, giving her some comfort.

"I'm sorry Hermione. I really am. But we still have another place to check so let's get moving and hope that the next place is where your parents are." Ron said soothingly.

Hermione just nodded and as soon as Ron removed his arm, Hermione immediately missed the contact. It felt right and safe and gave her hope. She tried not to dwell on it as she collected herself and followed Ron back outside. They immediately left and arrived at the other house. Hermione mentally prepared herself for this one to be a bust as well. It was a good thing because once again, these people were not her parents.

She and Ron didn't say anything after they walked out of the house and apparated back to their original camp site. Hermione was thinking of their next destination. Another place that her parents would most likely want to live when they came here. She took out her map of Australia and looked around and found another city she was sure they could be. It would take a few days to get there though with how far away it was from Melbourne and they would basically be back tracking because they would have to go back through Sydney to get to Brisbane.

"Okay Ron, so Brisbane is going to be our next city. It's a few days away even by apparition so we should probably just spend the rest of the day here to rest up for that unless you want to leave today and get a head start." Hermione said.

"It's like the hunt for the bloody horcruxes all over again. We have no idea where they are, just searching anywhere and everywhere." Ron muttered under his breath or so he thought.

"What did you just say?"


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey Everyone! I just wanted to say sorry for the slow burn. I wasn't expecting that but once I started writing, the story just had a mind of its' own, but we are getting there. Thanks again for the follows and reviews!**

"What did you just say?" asked Hermione, her voice surprisingly calm, yet Ron heard the sharpness in her tone as well.

He had thought that he had muttered very quietly how he felt about this search for her parents, his face now turning bright red in embarrassment from being heard, glad that at the moment, his back was facing Hermione so that she wouldn't see. It reminded him like their most recent adventure searching for horcruxes this past year. Ron had thought Harry and Dumbledore had come up with more of a plan than what had actually happened. But instead, they had no idea where to start or where to look. And this search for Hermione's parents was very similar except that they knew to look in Australia. But again, they had no idea where to start or where to search or how to find them.

Ron wasn't sure if she had actually heard exactly what he said, so he decided it was best to try and play dumb, in hopes that she just heard him mumbling. "What? I didn't say anything." He said carefully as he turned around to face Hermione.

"The bloody hell you didn't Ronald Weasley!" Hermione snapped at him as she stood up from the table and stormed toward him, her face red with fury.

Ron actually took a couple steps back as she approached him, his hands immediately going up in surrender. The last time he had seen her this angry before was at the yule ball in their fourth year when he was bitter about her going with Krum to the dance. So he knew he had it coming.

"I heard everything you just said so don't try to deny it. This is nothing like the hunt for those horcruxes." She yelled poking him in his chest. "And I can't believe you would even compare that to this!"

"Hermione, I didn't mean it like that but you have to see somewhat of a pattern here. I mean we have been looking all over for your parents but have come up empty." He explained.

"We are not out hunting for objects that we need to destroy. We are looking for my parents and I told you that this could and probably would take a while. I have no idea where they are! No clues or anything to help me find them. It is a guessing game!" She said, her hands flying up in the air out of frustration. "I didn't ask you to come with me Ron. This is nothing like Harry's situation. I was prepared to do this on my own."

"I know. I'm just frustrated that we haven't gotten closer to finding them is all."

"And you don't think I am frustrated as well?" Hermione asked her voice rising slightly as her face turned red from anger. "You have no idea what this is like for me Ron. You can guess but you have no idea how this feels, to wake up every day not knowing where your parents are or if you just might miss them and if we do happen to cross paths, and they glance my way, they won't even recognize me! That means that they wouldn't call out my name to get my attention. They would just continue on their way and I would have no idea that I just walked past them. So if this is too frustrating for you, then you can leave. I can manage on my own perfectly fine."

"Hermione, that's, that's not it. I just thought…"

"Just thought I had a plan, that I would know exactly where they were right? Well sorry to disappoint you Ronald, but I don't. And I still don't either. I mean I just don't even understand why in the first place you came with me, especially since you think this is so similar to Harry's situation and we all remember how well you handled that!" Ron visibly winced as her words struck home.

"That was different! We were all wearing that bloody horcrux…" Ron tried to defend himself but she just continued on, ignoring him.

"I didn't ask you to come and yet here you are. Almost every day you have complained about something. You should have just stayed home." Hermione bit out, her hands balled into fists, as she stood her ground in front of Ron.

Ron was honestly a little hurt by the words she just said. If she was trying to hurt him, she definitely succeeded. He didn't know how to respond to her as she stood there, looking at him, waiting. Finally, her hands relaxed and she took a couple steps back and sighed deeply.

"Why are you still here? If this is as frustrating as you claim why haven't you left?" She asked quietly, her voice sounding defeated as she went and sat back down at the table.

"I couldn't let you go on your own." He responded softly.

Hermione just started shaking her head as she brought her hand up to her face and dragged it down her face. "That's not a good enough answer. That was your excuse about three weeks ago when we first headed out and I know that wasn't the truth. Give me the real reason."

Ron rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. He wasn't ready to tell her the truth, not yet anyways. It just wasn't the right time, especially because they were just fighting but he knew that he had to give her some semblance of the truth, something that she would believe and then drop the subject. He took a minute to think over what to say.

"It's always been us Hermione. You, me, and Harry going on adventures together, saving the school or even the world from Voldemort and his death eaters. It just didn't seem right to let you go on your own and not have anyone help you. You've helped me too many times to actually count and it only seemed right that I help you. This is just another adventure for us to solve and I wish Harry was here to partake in it with us, but I understand why he didn't come. But I just didn't want you to have to venture off all by yourself. You've always been willing to help everyone else and I thought it was time someone offered to help you. That's what friends are for."

He watched Hermione's face closely to see if she believed what he said. He tried to make it sound as truthful as possible. It wasn't a total lie nor was it the full truth either. He really didn't think it was right for Hermione to do this on her own. Travelling to another country that she's never been to and trying to find her parents would have been very difficult. It's difficult enough now with the both of them. In a way, it was another adventure just like he said, but he also wanted to help protect her and just be with her as well. He couldn't have imagined letting her go alone. It also felt weird when he said 'friends' too because he wasn't really sure what they were.

"You're right Ron. It always has been the three of us always doing something crazy that could've gotten us expelled or killed." Hermione said breaking Ron's reverie. "And I wish Harry was here too. But I cannot deal with your complaining anymore. As you've already experienced, this isn't going to be easy or quick. If you want to stay and help me, then do so but no more complaining about it. If that is too much trouble for you, then you can go because I can't handle it anymore or I will go mental. I'm going to stay until I find my parents." Said Hermione tiredly. It seemed that the fight and the stress of the past few hours of disappointment had finally caught up to her.

Ron nodded yes. "I will stay and I'm sorry Hermione. I didn't mean to make this harder on you. I was being an insensitive and selfish git."

Hermione just nodded as she got up from the table and walked over to her bed and laid down shutting her eyes. Ron felt guilt creep up in the pit of his stomach. He didn't like lying to Hermione. He really wanted to express everything he felt to her but he wanted to do it at the right time and it had not been the right time. Their emotions had been on high and admitting something so deep like actual feelings, might have ruined everything, especially since she believes he has the emotional range of a teaspoon. He is actually quite surprised that he hasn't ruined what he has with Hermione already, if there is anything at all since he wasn't quite sure how she felt.

Ron figured he would know when the time was right. Everything would just fall into place and there would be something in his gut that told him 'this is it. Now is the time.' But until that happened, he would wait. Ron made his way to his bed and figured he might as well get some sleep. He could tell as he looked over at Hermione that she was already passed out, her breathing even, her face worry free. The fight, plus the long day had them exhausted them both, so he wasn't surprised that she had passed out within minutes of lying down.

He studied her for a few minutes, watching her breathe, how she seemed to be so peaceful while sleeping. She was just so beautiful, her skin a light tan from being outside, no blemishes on her face. Then her left arm moved to the end of the bed, where it hung over the edge and her scar showed as her sleeve was hiked up her arm. The one that said _mudblood_ , carved into her skin by Bellatrix Lestrange and her knife just a few months ago.

Seeing it made Ron gasp and his face turned red in anger. It honestly killed him inside to know that he hadn't been able to protect her from that. The fact that that scar would always remain on her arm broke his heart and he wished that he could go back and do something about it but he knew he could not change the past. Time turners had been banned from use a couple of years ago and as far as he was aware they were also destroyed by the ministry shortly after Voldemort had resurfaced for fear that he or his death eaters would try to use one and go back in time to before Voldemort's first downfall. Plus, he had no idea where he would even get one if any still existed or if he could figure out how to use it properly.

It reminded him of the scar on the back of Harry's hand too by Umbridge's special quill. Harry had a whole line burned into his skin that she had made him write during a couple of detentions he had had to serve with her. And of course, he would never forget his lightning bolt shaped scar that was caused by You Know Who himself, when that killing curse had backfired when Harry was just a baby. Ron let out a breath, realizing that he was very lucky indeed to have escaped all the dangerous situations he had been put in with just a couple of scars from deep gashes that he had received and not have any type of defining marks like his two best mates did. Ron decided that he better just get some sleep and not worry about what was in the past. He couldn't change it and it was something they would all have to continue living with.


	13. Chapter 13

Hermione woke up the next morning feeling exhausted. Even though she fell asleep rather early, she had a restless sleep, constantly waking up being plagued by nightmares of never finding her parents. She also knew that she wasn't just tired from having barely slept last night but also just from the past two weeks of searching and the fight with Ron.

She glanced over at Ron and saw that he was still sleeping. She wondered when he went to bed last night since she was pretty sure she passed out before he even went to bed. She was still a bit mad at him but not furious anymore like she was yesterday. She supposed at this point, she may as well let it go. He promised he wouldn't complain anymore and she hoped that he would keep to that promise. However, Ron was her best friend and she knew better than to count on that.

Just as she was about to get up and wake up Ron, Ron stirred in his bed, yawing and stretching his arms above his head as he sat up. He turned to look at Hermione and gave her a half sleepy smile.

"Mooooorning Hermione." Said Ron through another yawn.

"Morning. I was about to get up and make some coffee. Would you like some?" she asked.

"Yes, thank you."

Hermione got the coffee started as Ron got himself dressed and ready for the day. He made a deal with himself last night that he was going to be as nice to Hermione as possible and not get cranky about anything. The next couple of days were going to be travel days anyways, which aren't exactly fun. But he promised Hermione he wouldn't make this any harder for her than it already was. He was determined to be good and helpful for her in any way that he could.

Once the coffee was made, they both took a seat at the table and just drank in silence for a while, just listening to the birds outside chirping to the early morning sun.

"So what is the plan? I know we need to travel for a few days?" Ron asks Hermione.

Hermione sets her mug down before answering. "Yes, it will take about three and half days probably to get there by apparition." At this point, Hermione pulled out her map to show Ron where they were currently and where they were headed. "A lot of that will depend on us and how we are feeling and if we can physically travel that much distance in a short amount of time."

"Okay so Brisbane it is. Should we get ready to head out then?"

Twenty minutes later, they packed up the tent and were on their way. They travelled at a good pace and distance the first two days with not many breaks until the third day. They were both physically exhausted and were only able to apparate about ten miles or so because that was all the strength they had. They even tried to just apparate separately to see if they could muster more strength to cover more distance but found that it didn't make any difference. It also didn't help that a few times they didn't end up in the same place and had to backtrack to find each other.

Finally around three o'clock, Hermione grabbed Ron's hand and told him to stop.

"I think we've travelled more than enough the last three days. I think we should use the rest of this day to get some real food, like at a restaurant and gather our strength. We should make it to Brisbane tomorrow mid-day so let's just take this day."

Ron just nodded in agreement. He couldn't believe how tired he was. He felt like he was carrying this heavy invisible weight on his body and it was hard for him to even do anything with how tired he was. He imagined Hermione felt the same way since she was the one who suggested they take the rest of the day to recover.

They had put a lot of ground behind them though. They covered about 200 miles each time they apparated and they both knew from experience, that when you do side by side apparition, it's even harder to keep up a pace because you are literally pulling someone else with you. Even still, Ron was glad Hermione decided they should stop.

They found a tiny diner and went in there and each ate a cheap and quick meal but it was so filling since it was the first real meal they have had in the past few days. After that, they found a spot to pitch the tent and both fell right asleep.

The next day, they both woke up early to get a head start. They had decided last night, that they would take it easy today and travel at a shorter clip so as not to tire themselves out too much. Hermione estimated that they were probably only a few hours away from Brisbane. She suggested too that they will go straight to the town hall when they get there but wait until the following day to see if any of the names matched her parent's fake names and if they were indeed her parents. Ron easily agreed and they finished off their journey, arriving in Brisbane a few hours later.

Hermione got absolutely no sleep last night. She had been way to anxious and kept tossing and turning every few minutes. She was surprised that she hadn't woken Ron up with all the noise she had made. So she decided that around 4:30am, when it was clear she was not going to be able to fall asleep, she would head to the town hall herself and get the addresses that she would need.

"Muffliato." Hermione whispered the spell to block out noise from Ron overhearing. She didn't want to wake him up so early and knew he would start an argument with her about going out so early. She also realized as she put on her shoes, that he will start an argument with her once he finds out that she went out without him too, since yesterday, they both decided to wait to go to the town hall as they were just so physically drained from the journey. So it seemed like it was going to be a lose-lose situation for Hermione anyways. As she walked out of the tent, she removed the spell so that Ron would be able to hear normally.

Two hours later, Ron woke up to the smell of coffee invading his nose. It smelled wonderful and as he began to open his eyes, he could tell it was early, because his eyes were still heavy with sleep and it felt like his body was fighting him to continue to stay in bed and sleep. But Ron forced himself to sit up because he knew that Hermione was up given the smell of coffee. She was probably anxious to get to the town hall and see if they could finally track down her parents.

"Morning Ron. I made some breakfast if you'd like some." Hermione figured it would be best to bribe Ron with food because maybe that would help keep his temper at ease when she told him that she already had the addresses of the places they were going to go. It was lucky that they still happened to have a few eggs in the fridge and some bread.

Ron looked at Hermione skeptically, getting the feeling that something was up. It wasn't unusual for Hermione to make breakfast, but she usually just made it and didn't say anything. He eyed her suspiciously as he scooped some eggs and grabbed a few pieces of toast onto his plate. He then grabbed a mug of coffee and sat down at the table across from Hermione, who had already eaten and was currently studying the map. Ron took a few bites of his food before he couldn't wait any longer and asked Hermione when they would be heading out.

Hermione slowly looked up at Ron, her eyes slightly squinting as she was about to explain to Ron that she had already gone to the town hall.

"Well that's the thing. I, ah, already went to the town hall early this morning. So I have the addresses we need so we can just head out whenever." She said tentatively as she watched Ron's face so that she could gauge his reaction.

Ron was just about to eat another forkful of eggs as Hermione said this and his hand froze in midair at her statement as he looked at her with wide eyes. "So, you're telling me you left here, while I was sleeping, and went to the town hall without me?"

Hermione nodded. "Yes. I didn't get a wink of sleep last night. I was too anxious about everything, so I figured that I might as well get up and go to the town hall." Hermione looked down at her hands. She couldn't meet Ron's eyes as she was bracing herself for his coming attack.

Ron put his fork down and took a couple of deep breaths. He shouldn't be mad at her and he was going to try and not act mad. She just was desperate to find her parents and as much as Ron would have preferred to be woken up so she didn't go alone, he knew at the same time that if she didn't feel like it was safe, she wouldn't have gone.

"Okay, well good. That saves us, or me an extra trip." Ron said calmly.

Hermione's head snapped up and she looked at Ron quizzically. "Wait, you're not upset with me that I left you here while I went out on my own?"

"Well I'm not thrilled about it Hermione but there's no point in me getting mad. It wouldn't change what already happened. I just wish you would've woken me up so that you weren't alone."

"I can do things on my own you know. I don't always need help." Hermione said defensively.

Ron let out a sigh. "That's not what I meant Hermione. I know you don't need help. But you never know what may happen. It's just better to have someone with you. We don't know anything about the magical community here and although we have been lucky, you could've crossed paths with someone similar to a death eater here and I would never have known."

Hermione opened her mouth to argue and then shut it. Ron did have a point. She had put herself into a risky situation by going out alone and in the dark and early morning hours. Although she was trained well enough to keep herself safe, doesn't mean that someone couldn't beat her, especially an older dark wizard.

"Should we get going then? How many places do we have to visit?" asked Ron after a minute of silence.

"Just two and they only live a few blocks from each other. And yeah, let's go so we can get this over with." Hermione said as she suddenly felt very warm and nauseous. Ron saw Hermione's face turn pale and immediately reached for her hand and held it tightly.

"It's going to be okay Hermione. We will find your parents. There is no need to feel nervous. Plus, I have a good feeling about Brisbane." Said Ron as he winked at Hermione with a slight smirk on his face.

Hermione couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle at Ron. He was being rather sweet, trying to make her feel better and she really appreciated it. She gave his hand a squeeze to show her gratitude, then they got up and packed up the tent and apparated to their first destination. Unfortunately, it was not Hermione's parents.

They arrived about ten minutes later at the next address. The house was at the end of a cul du sac and pushed back from the road farther than the other houses. And while all the houses seemed to be built the same way, this house was different. It was smaller and was very similar to a log cabin with a porch that took up the entire front of the house with a porch swing and two wooden rocking chairs, the only things taking up space on the porch. It gave Hermione the impression that anyone could call this place home and it looked exactly like the kind of home she could imagine her parents living in.

Hermione and Ron crept up to one of the front windows and peeked in. It didn't seem like anyone was in the living room so they figured it would be safe for them to enter through the front door and take their chances. They unlocked the front door and quietly walked in. Immediately, they could hear some bustling and voices coming from the kitchen. Hermione looked at Ron and put a finger to her lips to convey that they needed to be quiet.

Hermione tip-toed to towards the kitchen, doing her best to keep her breathing as quiet as possible. Her heart was hammering in her chest and it actually made her wonder if Ron could hear it, since he was right behind her. Just as she was about to poke her head around the wall, she grabbed onto Ron's wrist out of nerves. She just needed something solid to help keep her strong.

Hermione leaned her head around the corner and gasped.


	14. Chapter 14

As soon as Hermione gasped, Ron grabbed her quickly on her shoulder, pulling her back around the wall while placing his other hand over her mouth to keep her quiet. He knew that there was no way that these people did not hear her gasp because it was suddenly quiet for just a moment.

"Hello? Is someone here?" A man's voice questioned with some surprise lacing his voice as Ron and Hermione heard the scraping of chairs across the kitchen floor, indicating that the residents were getting up to investigate the noise.

"Come on Hermione, let's get out of here." Ron whispered urgently as he attempted to drag Hermione out of the house because he knew they were going to get caught. But Hermione wouldn't move and kept pulling herself out of Ron's grip.

"Hermione, come…"

"Hey! Who are you? What are you doing in our house?" Said an angry voice.

Ron looked up and was looking right at Mr. and Mrs. Granger. That was why Hermione had gasped so loud. They had finally found her parents. Ron glanced at Hermione and saw that she was just frozen there, staring at her parents.

"Look, you need to leave right now. I don't know what you are doing here, or how you got in our house but you must leave at once or I will the call cops." Said Mr. Granger as he took a step towards them.

Hermione still didn't move or say anything. Ron didn't know what was wrong with her so he went to grab her again.

"Come on Hermione, let's go before they call the cops." He gently pulled her arm and she relented and let herself get pulled by Ron, never taking her eyes off her parents. "Sorry about the intrusion sir." Ron yelled out to the Grangers' as they left the house. Ron made sure to pull Hermione off to the side because he knew she was not going to want to leave. He wanted an explanation for what just happened too. He had never seen Hermione speechless like that. She always excelled, even in the toughest moments.

"What was that Hermione? What the bloody hell just happened back there?"

"I just was so surprised and happy to see my parents again." She said slowly. "I was hoping when they saw me that just maybe, there would be some spark of recognition." She said softly, looking away from Ron.

Ron instantly felt bad for Hermione. It must be so disappointing to finally see your parents after all this time and they don't even know who you are.

"Hermione, it's okay. We found them. There is no need to be upset. You know how the oblivation spell works and especially with you performing the spell, there was no way it was going to fail. But now you can reverse the spell and get your parents back." Ron said, as he gently rubbed his hands up and down Hermione's arms, in an attempt to give her some comfort.

Hermione immediately threw her arms around Ron's neck and held him tight. She was so thankful that he was here with her right now. It was true that now she can give them their memories back. It was just the shock from seeing them again for the first time after a year of not seeing them or even talking to them. Plus, she had no idea how they were doing either, whether or not they were actually safe while she had been gone.

And yes, she admitted that she thought they might just recognize her, which was foolish on her part. She knew they wouldn't but she had hoped they would. Once she gives them back their memories, though, they will remember and that gave her comfort and joy. It would be wonderful to have her parents back. She had missed them so much.

"Thank you Ron. You're right." She said as she broke away from the hug. "Now let's get in there so I can give them their memories back. I need my parents." She said confidently.

"Uh, well how do you plan to go about doing that? We can't just walk back in there." Ron said, confusion written all over his face.

"Oh, I have a plan. Don't worry about it." Hermione said as a smile broke across her face.

She was so excited to have finally found her parents. The search was over and once she gives them their memories back, they can go back to Britain and go about their lives as normal. She strode right back into the house, and using a sleeping charm, she put her parents instantly to sleep before they even knew she was back in the house. She decided to start with her dad first.

The spell she would have to use to give them their memories back would take a lot of concentration. Just as she was about to begin, Ron asked her a question.

"Hermione, how is it possible that you can give your parent's memories back when others aren't able to get theirs? Like Lockhart for example. I mean he was mental but still, he lost his memories."

"Well, it is very difficult to perform the spell to retrieve memories. It takes great skill and concentration and the person who plans to restore the memories, must have been the one to take them away. It's almost similar to how Harry was able to see Snape's memories. Snape had to give to them Harry. I was the one who removed them from my parents and I am the only who can give them back their memories. Does that make sense?"

Ron nodded yes. Hermione then asked him if he had any more questions so that she could begin restoring her parent's memories. Once she began, she couldn't be interrupted or there could be complications. Ron said that he didn't and he was just going to sit in the sitting room so as not to bother her. As soon as he left, she began the spell.

It took Hermione about an hour to complete the spell on both of her parents and as soon as she was done, she dropped right into the chair next to her dad, to give herself a few minutes of rest. That was spell was physically draining, more so than she had originally predicted. She grabbed the glass of water that her dad had been drinking and gulped the rest of it down as she wiped her forehead with her free hand. Just as she finished the water, her parents began to stir.

"What is going on…?" Started Mr. Granger as he sat up in his seat and surveyed his surroundings, his eyes falling on Hermione after a second. His eyes widened as he recognized his daughter.

"Hermione!" yelled her mother as she immediately jumped out of her seat and ran over to her daughter and embraced her in a tight hug. It didn't take long for Mr. Granger to join as he got up and wrapped his arms around his wife and daughter a second later. Mrs. Granger had begun crying as had Hermione. It was so nice to be back with her parents and they now remembered who she was.

At all the commotion happening, Ron entered the kitchen, seeing all of the Grangers in a family hug. He could hear the sounds of crying coming from the women, but he figured it was just happy tears and he was happy to see that Hermione was successful in restoring their memories. Not that he had doubted for even a second that she wouldn't be able to do it of course.

After another couple of seconds, the Grangers' finally broke apart.

"Hermione, what is going on? I'm feeling really confused right about now. I know we are in Australia but I'm not sure why." Mr. Granger asked as Mrs. Granger nodded in agreement.

"I know. I'm sorry. I have a lot I have to explain, but why don't you two go into the sitting room and take a seat. I'll make a pot of tea and I will tell you everything. Ron, can you help me?"

At the mention of Ron's name, both Mr. and Mrs. Granger turned around and spotted Ron leaning against the wall in the kitchen. Immediately, his face turned red from the attention as he gave a slight wave to the Grangers.

"Oh, Ron it is so lovely to see you again." Said Mrs. Granger as Ron approached and shook her hand, and then Mr. Granger's. Ron only nodded, not exactly sure what to say.

"Sure. It is nice to see you again Mr. and Mrs. Granger." He was finally able to say.

"Oh please, call us David and Emily. We are all adults here." Said David.

Hermione then ushered them out of the room. She had a lot of explaining to do about why they suddenly seemed to remember her and exactly why they were here in Australia as well as everything that has happened since they have been gone. They deserved to know everything. She also wanted Ron's help in doing so.

"Ron will you help me tell my parents everything that happened? I will explain all the memories stuff, but I could use some help in telling them the rest of the story." She asked as she began to make the tea.

"You really want to tell them everything? Even the things that happened at Malfoy manor?" Asked Ron nervously.

Hermione paused what she was doing. Remembering that particular day brought bile into her throat but she swallowed it down. She was fine and she made it through that and nothing like that was going to happen again, even though it left scars, both physical and emotional. She blinked back the few tear that were brimming, as she turned to face Ron.

"Yes. Everything including that. I've hidden a lot from them over the years and it has put a strain on my relationship with my parents, especially my mom so they deserve to hear the whole story. Even the most horrible things." Said Hermione bravely.

Ron nodded as he walked over to her and grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze. "Okay. I will help you tell them everything."

Once again, Hermione was very grateful that Ron had decided to come with her. He had become her foundation of strength and support that she didn't realize that she would need. He was also acting different towards here since their row a few days ago too. He was acting just nicer and being rather touchy with her, like grabbing her hand and earlier when he rubbed his hands up her arms when they first got here. He was being different. It made her question why he was doing these things that hinted at something more than friendship but now was not the time to dwell on her emotions and his actions.

Shaking ahead to clear her thoughts about Ron's recent actions, she grabbed the tray of tea and asked Ron to grab the napkins and biscuits that her parents had already prepared sitting on the kitchen table and they made their way into the sitting room. There would be time to ponder those thoughts later, but right now, her focus had to be on her parents and telling them everything.

She set down the tray on the coffee table and took a seat on the couch next to where her parents were sitting, Ron sitting down a few seconds later next to her. She waited a few moments as her parents set up their tea before they sat back and looked at their daughter expectantly. Hermione took a deep breath.

"Where do I begin?" She asked.


	15. Chapter 15

As Hermione delved into her story about the journey that her and her friends had gone on, she decided that she wouldn't hold anything back. She planned on telling her parents everything. She had hidden so much from them over the past few years because it was always difficult to explain what was going on in the magical world and having them not understand it since they weren't a part of it. The more they knew, the more danger it could bring to them. She didn't know what she should and shouldn't tell them and it had put quite a strain on their relationship, especially with her mother. So this time, she wasn't going to hold anything back.

Occasionally, Ron would interject when necessary to help tell their story. He would constantly glance at Hermione to make sure it was okay to share all the details and she would just nod. They decided to leave out the part of Ron leaving though, as that wasn't important to the central point of their story. As Hermione started to describe how they had been caught by snatchers and brought to Malfoy Manor, she saw Ron stiffen in her peripherals and she felt her shoulders tense up as well. Should she really tell her parents about her torture? She knew eventually, they would see the scar on her forearm and ask her where she had got that.

"So, at Malfoy Manor, which is a deatheater strong hold, we were surrounded by the Malfoys, who clearly recognized Ron and myself. Harry was harder to distinguish because of the face stinging jinx I had used on him which had made his face all swollen. Anyway, Bellatrix saw the sword that Ron had used to destroy the locket with being held by one of the snatchers and started panicking as she recognized what it was and threw Ron and Harry in the dungeon…" Hermione trailed off, tears springing from her eyes, remembering everything that happened next so clearly, as if she was still there. Absently, she rubbed her hand across her scar that Bellatrix had carved into her arm and she remembered the screams she had released in pain and fear. The way it felt to have that sharp knife dig into her skin as Bellatrix carved the word mudblood into her skin, as she smiled sadistically.

Ron immediately saw the tears sliding down Hermione's cheeks and knew she would not be able to speak about this part. This part in the story was probably the scariest moment he had lived through, as he had no choice but to listen to Hermione's screams at whatever Bellatrix had been doing to her and apparently the trauma ran deep enough that Hermione was emotionally scarred, not just physically. So Ron knew that he would have to tell this tale to her parents, for Hermione.

"Honey, are you okay? Why are you crying? What happened?" Mrs. Granger asked, her face showing concern as she sat forward to reach for Hermione's hand.

Ron cleared his throat. "Uhh, well I'll just start by saying it wasn't good." Ron glanced at Hermione but she didn't look at him. She was staring off into space, probably remembering everything that he was about to divulge to her parents. Ron turned his attention back to her parents, who both looked worried about what he was about to tell them.

"Yeah, so Harry and I were thrown in the dungeon because Bellatrix wanted to talk to Hermione and see if she could get Hermione to tell her how we got the sword that should've been in her vault at Gringotts. She was so sure that we had stolen it. So, she tortured her." Ron choked a little on the words. This was going to be hard on him as well. He was so distraught at what had been happening to Hermione and how he wasn't able to do anything to stop it or that he hadn't been able to keep her safe.

"What do you mean tortured her? Someone…someone tortured our little girl?" asked Mr. Granger in a small voice as Mrs. Granger started crying.

Ron took a steadying breath. "Yes. When Hermione told Bellatrix that we had not been in her vault, which was the truth, Bellatrix did not believe her and used the cruiatius curse on her a couple of times. That curse causes the person to feel extreme pain. And then, Bellatrix decided to take out a knife and jumped on top of Hermione, and used the knife to engrave a word upon her skin. She wrote mudblood on her arm which was just as painful as the curse she had used. Mudblood is also a very filthy word for someone that is muggleborn."

Both of Hermione's parents were now crying and stood up to walk over to their daughter where all three of them just hugged each other as they cried over what their daughter had endured. Ron felt something on his cheek and as he wiped it away, he realized it was a tear. He placed both hand on his face and realized that he was crying as well. Telling the story was upsetting and apparently affected him more emotionally than he thought.

He wiped away the tears, glad that the Grangers had not seen, not from embarrassment though. It was more about trying to be strong for Hermione, to show that he could show strength when something like that can so easily break you. He wanted to show them that he can pick her up when she felt down, that hopefully he could take her pain so that she didn't feel it. He could be her strength when she felt weak.

After a few minutes, the Grangers broke apart and Hermione's parents took their seats back on the couch. Hermione had stopped crying and took a sip of her tea to steady her breathing and her heart. She was thankful once again for Ron. That he was here and he was able to tell her parents what happened to her because she couldn't have done it. The trauma of what she had been through was too fresh in her mind and if she was honest with herself, she didn't know if she would ever be able to tell anyone about what had been done to her. She gave Ron a small smile as a thank you and then they continued on with the story.

After another hour, Hermione and Ron had finished telling the story. The Grangers just sat there, digesting everything they had heard, which had been a lot. They had been told a year's worth of a wizard's war that they had no idea was even going on that had involved their daughter and her friends on the front lines and that the fact that they were barely considered adults. It was hard to take it all in. So Hermione just left them to their thoughts while she waited until they were ready to speak again.

"Well that was quite the year you three had." Mr. Granger said.

"Yes, it was."

"What I still can't wrap my head around is why you erased our memories, Hermione, of you and wanting us to move here to Australia. We don't know anything about the magical world and it's not like you have been updating us on much anyways." Mr. Granger said, confusion on his face, while Mrs. Granger nodded in agreement. "I mean war is scary enough and one involving the magical community but I understand war and how that goes. The horcruxes are a bit confusing…" He said trailing off.

"It doesn't matter that you didn't know much about the magical world or not. Voldemort was a ruthless, evil, sadistic man. He would stop at nothing to get any information on Harry whereabourts or if he felt inclined to, would just kill someone for fun. I couldn't take that chance with you, leaving you guys here, unprotected. Even if you had no idea about my whereabouts, I was known as Harry Potter's friend and Voldemort and his death eaters would've tortured you for information on his whereabouts or even used you as a way to get to me and ultimately Harry. And then he probably would've killed you." Hermione took a breath to steady her breathing. She was getting a bit worked up over the thought of something that could've happened to her parents had she not taken the necessary precautions that she had.

"So I did the only thing that I thought was for the best and for your safety so that you wouldn't be caught in the crossfire. I took your memories of me and made you believe that you had to move to Australia right away because it was your life's dream. And then I left before I changed my mind. It wasn't easy to do that. I watched as any pictures that I was in, disappeared. But I knew that I was doing what I thought was right. I couldn't risk losing you." Hermione said, her voice breaking a bit at the end.

"I understand dear. I may not always understand what is happening in your world but I understand a threat. This threat was so great, that you saw no other choice than to make sure we would not come to any harm. I can only imagine how hard it must have been to do what you did. You kept us safe Hermione and we love you. We will always love you." Said Mrs. Granger.

This time, it was Hermione who stood up and went over to her parents and hugged each of them tightly. Ron was happy that they seemed to be on good terms again, since the last of couple years, there had been a strain on Hermione's relationship with her mum. He knew that this made Hermione happy, to be with her parents again.

"Right, so now all is safe and we can head back to London, yes?" Asked Mr. Granger after Hermione sat back down.

Everyone laughed at how eager he was for them to return home.

"Yes, we can. You just have to pack your stuff but how we will get it back to London, I am not sure since I don't know how you did in the first place." Hermione said.

"Oh don't worry dear. We only really have clothes and some small trinkets. Everything here came with the place. Moving to a whole other country means you can't take everything you own especially furniture. Let's plan on leaving Monday. That gives us two days to pack and for you two to rest up."

Hermione and Ron nodded. That would be helpful for them since they had done a lot of travelling over the past month and a half. They could finally catch up on sleep and sleep in a real bed and eat real food. It was a relief, even if the way back to London would be a little different than before since Hermione's parents would be with them. It would also mean no apparition, which Hermione was grateful for.

After dinner, the Grangers showed Ron and Hermione their rooms and told them to not worry about anything the next two days. They could handle the packing of their few things and take care of this house themselves. They wanted them to rest up since they would be travelling again in two days' time. The Granger's bid them goodnight as they headed to their room. Ron and Hermione remained.

"Thank you for today. For stepping in and telling them what happened. They needed to know." Hermione said, rather quietly.

"Your welcome. I knew that you wanted them to know and I realized how hard it was for you tell it."

"Yeah, well it wasn't easy to live it either."

Ron flinched slightly. He just couldn't imagine. He had heard her screams but that didn't mean he understood the pain she had encountered. In some ways, he was thankful that he hadn't witnessed it happening.

"Well, I'm off to bed. It has been a long, emotionally draining day. I'll see you in the morning." Hermione said as she turned into her room.

"Hermione wait!" Ron walked over towards Hermione and pulled her into a quick hug. He just felt compelled to hug her, to show her that he was here for her and would always be.

Hermione was shocked that Ron pulled into a hug and at first she didn't know what to do at first. Then she relaxed into him and wrapped arms around his neck and breathed in his scent. She could tell that he was attempting to comfort her after today. She had been reunited with her parents but then had to relive her trauma of being tortured as well as their hunt for horcruxes. And he had to relive it too, the memories of everything still fresh in their minds. It had only been about two and a half months since Harry had defeated Voldemort and about three months since Malfoy Manor.

Ron suddenly pulled out of the embrace, his face bright red all the way up to his ears that it almost matched his hair. He then mumbled his goodnight to her and went into his room. Hermione just stared at his closed door, surprised at just how awkward he was about showing any type of emotion but he had always been like she supposed. She just shook her head as she entered her room and shut her door. Her eyes were immediately heavy as she laid down and decided to push any thoughts about Ron to the back of her mind for now. She had other things to think about right now, like moving back home with her parents. Within minutes, Hermione was fast asleep.


	16. Chapter 16

**Here's the next update! It's more of a filler chapter to help move some things along a little. Again thanks for all reviews, follows and favorites**

The next day, the Grangers were up early to begin their packing. It wouldn't take long, but they wanted to make sure they packed everything and then they would do a thorough look through afterwards to double check they hadn't missed anything.

Ron and Hermione offered to help a few times, but each time, Hermione's parents dismissed their help and told them to just relax or go out exploring for the day and have some fun. They could handle everything here. Hermione and Ron thought about it for a moment and decided that they should head out and enjoy the day, since they hadn't had a chance to enjoy what Australia had to offer since they had been there.

They apparated out to South Bank Parklands, where there would be shopping and sights to see as well as dining options when they got hungry. It was a beautiful day out. The sun was shining, the sky was clear and it was about 75 degrees out, the perfect temperature. Hermione and Ron just walked side by side, looking at all the shops, talking here and there. Every once in a while, either one of them would decide to go into a shop and check it out before moving on down the boardwalk.

After a while, Ron started to mention that he was hungry so he and Hermione found a small food vendor, and ordered some food. They decided to take their food over to the park which was only a few paces away from where they got their food. They found a bench and sat down to eat in a comfortable silence.

Hermione didn't mind the silence. It was very comfortable right now for her and Ron. They actually hadn't spoken much at all since they had been out, but it had been nice to just be out enjoying his company, knowing that they could actually enjoy just being together. In fact, the last time that she could remember just spending time with Ron and actually enjoying his company was back in Hogwarts about a year and a half ago. They used to play wizard's chess or exploding snaps together, especially when Harry was off at quidditch (before Ron joined the team) or whatever else he did when he was not with them. That felt like ages ago and it was actually quite nice that they were able to actually relax and not worry about anything. They were both in a good place in regards to each other.

But she didn't know how much longer he planned to stay with her, considering that she had now found her parents, which made her sad to know that he would be leaving. He could technically even go home now, but since he wasn't so sure about airplanes, she figured he would at least fly with them.

"So Ron, when we get back to London, are you going to head right home?" Hermione asked, breaking their silence.

"Oh, well I will, but I figured I could help you and your parents get settled back at home first." Ron said rather quietly as he wiped his hands on his napkin. "As long as your parents are okay with that of course. I just figured you guys might need a hand to help get everything back in order."

Hermione looked at him surprised by his answer. She would have thought he would be itching to get home as soon as possible. However, it was so thoughtful and nice of him to think of her and her parents and wanting to make sure they could get settled.

"Oh! Well that's nice of you to offer but I don't want you to think you can't go straight home if you would want. We can handle everything ourselves. I don't want to take more of your time."

Ron turned to look at her as he reached out for her hand and squeezed it. "Hermione, you wouldn't be taking any more of my time. I am offering my help because I want to. I wouldn't have offered if I wanted to go home. Plus, it's not like you are forcing me either." He said as he nudged her shoulder and cracked a smile.

She smiled back at him as she let out a quiet chuckle. She suddenly realized that Ron had been acting rather nice towards her lately. It's not that Ron wasn't always nice but it was different. It felt almost more personal in a sense, more than just friendship nice. She decided that she should talk to him here, where it was quiet, with no one around them, and in a beautiful place. They were on good terms as well, but just as she opened her mouth to ask, Ron tugged her hand as he stood up.

"Come on Hermione, let's go ride that giant wheel thing they have there!" Ron pulled Hermione to her feet, pointing at the giant Ferris wheel. He kept a firm grip on her hand until they got to the Ferris wheel and jumped on. They both stayed silent as the wheel slowly brought them to the top and the sight was breathtaking. All the people and cars seemed so small and they could see so far out at the height they were at. It was a beautiful and amazing sight to see. She turned to look at Ron and saw he had this relaxed smile on his face, as he looked all around him. He was really having a great time out here and enjoying all these muggle activities that he had never experienced before. Hermione felt little butterflies erupt in her stomach as he glanced at her, the smile still plastered on his face as he leaned his shoulder into hers to give her a little nudge. This was the best day she ever had with Ron.

The following morning, the Grangers and Ron were up early and packing the few suitcases into the cab that would take them to the Brisbane International Airport. They had wanted to get as early a flight as possible so that they could get back to their real home and get back to their real reality.

Once they arrived at the airport, Ron and Hermione had to once again use the imperious curse to make sure that all of their things went through the detectors without a hitch once again. An hour and a half later, Hermione found herself seated next to Ron and her parents seated across from them, their plane about to take off. That was when it finally felt real to Hermione that she had done it. They had come to Australia over a month and a half ago to attempt and find her parents, not knowing how long it would take them and now here they were, on a plane, finally heading home. Hermione let out a deep contented breath. It was like the weight of the world had come off her shoulders and now everything could go back to normal. She could go back to her childhood home that she had feared she may never see again and her parents would be there, with their memories intact. A sudden happy tear slipped down Hermione's face and she tried to quickly wipe it away before Ron saw.

"Hermione are you okay? Why are you crying?" Ron asked, concern lacing his voice.

Hermione's felt the blush rush to her cheeks, embarrassed that Ron had caught the unwelcome tear.

"Oh, I'm fine. I'm just really happy to have my parents back and that we are heading home. It's just been a very long, hard year and I'm glad that it is finally all over."

Ron reached his arm over Hermione and tugged her into him for a somewhat awkward hug as the seats didn't really give enough room for a proper hug.

"I know what you mean. It will be nice to be able to go back home and know there is nothing to worry about anymore. It's all over."

Hermione just nodded and relaxed into Ron's chest. He seemed content to just hold her and she was perfectly fine with that. It seemed to be exactly what she needed. Someone who just understood what she has endured, who was there for her, and that person was Ron. He had been her support system and she felt very calm and relaxed against him.

At some point, Hermione must have dozed off because when she woke up, she noticed that her head was resting against Ron's shoulder and a small blue blanket had been draped over them. As she sat up, she saw that Ron had passed out, his head resting against the side of the plane, with the cover down over the window to block out the sunlight from earlier in the day. His hair, which had grown out a bit, was slightly covering his face and she had this very strong urge to reach over and carefully push back his red hair from his face. However, she resisted as she looked across the aisle at her parents and saw that her mom was reading a book and her dad was sitting in the same position as Ron, and she could tell he was sleeping as well.

"Hey mum, how far are we?" Hermione whispered so that she didn't wake Ron, her dad, and any other passengers that may be sleeping as well.

Hermione's mom checked her watch. "Well, we've been flying for only about six hours. We still have quite a way to go." She said as she smiled at her daughter and went back to reading her book.

Hermione slumped in her seat, disappointed that they hadn't covered more ground while she had been sleeping. The first time she had taken this flight to find her parents, her mind had been so preoccupied that she had hardly been able to sleep so she had resorted to reading, which was always her favorite past time and when she did actually fall asleep, it had been short bursts of a half hour or so.

Now that she didn't have anything to worry about, it had been so easy to just fall asleep because she was finally free of concerns for her parents, which was why in some ways, this made this flight worse because barely any time had passed while she had been napping. So Hermione grabbed her beaded bag and summoned a book to read and settled in for the rest of this long flight.

Finally, at around 10am the next day, they finally landed in London. Hermione was beside herself with excitement to finally be back and actually know where she was and for the most part, how to get around this city. It was comforting to realize that she was home and to recognize the Big Ben clock tower and the very bustling, loud city.

Her parents and Ron seemed to feel the same way as she saw all three of them looking around at their familiar surroundings, all seeming content with small smiles on their faces.

"Well, let's grab a taxi and head back home, shall we?" Said Mr. Granger. Everyone nodded in agreement and within a matter of moments, all four of them were stuffed into a taxi, luggage loaded into the trunk, with the smaller bags all tucked between their legs on their way to the Grangers' home.

Suddenly, Ron realized that he had never seen Hermione's home. Most of the time, during their summer breaks, Hermione had always come to the Burrow to spend out the remaining weeks of their holiday or if not at the Burrow, wherever they were at the time. So he was both excited and nervous to finally be seeing Hermione's home and really seeing how muggles lived.


	17. Chapter 17

**This chapter is just a filler chapter just to let a couple of realizations hit before we get to the big stuff. Thanks for hanging in there! We are getting closer to the end.**

When the taxi pulled into the Grangers driveway, Ron let out a quiet gasp. This house was definitely much better than his. For one, it didn't look like it could topple over at any moment because it was stacked haphazardly and held together by magic. This was a nicely put together two story home, painted a light blue with a white picket fence right in the front of the yard. Although, the grass had grown quite long and wild but Ron figured that was due to the fact that the house had been vacant for the past year. Still, it was quite the sight.

As for Hermione and her parents, there was an excitement to finally be back at their home. It had certainly felt like a lifetime for the three of them since they had last been here and they were anxious to get inside and start getting settled in.

"Looks like I'll have to mow the lawn in the morning." Said David slightly chuckling as he looked at the mess his lawn had become.

"Well come on, let's get our stuff and get inside and start getting unpacked." Emily said.

All four of them grabbed the luggage and brought it into the house. Since most of the suitcases were packed with the Grangers clothes, they brought the luggage upstairs into the master bedroom. After that, the Granger's shooed both Ron and Hermione out of their room and told them they could handle unpacking their suitcases and they should go ahead and start on the living room. It could use some dusting after being abandoned for such a long time.

Ron followed Hermione down the stairs and through a short hallway to the living room. All the furniture was covered in blankets and they immediately started to remove them. It took them just a few minutes to get all the blankets removed and folded and then Hermione went ahead and started plugging in, as she called it, other items around the room that came to life. Ron was rather shocked and didn't understand what was happening. He had never once in his life had to "plug something in." Everything was always accomplished with the wave of your wand. Hermione did her best to try and explain to Ron how these things worked without magic. She then gave the folded blankets to Ron and told him where the linen closet was so that he could put the blankets away and once he was done, to meet her in the kitchen.

Ron was in awe of Hermione's house. It was such a stark contrast to his home and it wasn't so much the difference of the size of the house or the rooms, but that it was so clearly a muggle home. He had never been to a muggle's house before, other than Harry's uncle's house for a just a few minutes, so he didn't know what to expect but it was odd that there wasn't any type of magic being used. At the burrow, his mother was always using magic, in the kitchen where the pans would wash themselves, or using a spell to set up the dinner table or even to do the laundry. But here, everything was either done by whoever was in the house or by electrical things. Ron found himself in awe and finally was able to understand his dad's fascination of all things muggle.

A couple of hours later and after everything was unpacked and dusted, the Grangers decided they should just order a pizza since they did not have any food in the house to prepare for dinner. Once again, Ron was baffled by what they meant. He didn't realize that ordering a pizza required using a telephone, which he was somewhat familiar with from a few years ago when he had tried calling Harry with one, and then also waiting for it to be delivered by someone. Living in the muggle world was much different than Ron had imagined.

About twenty minutes later, they were sitting at the kitchen table, each eating the pizza that had finally arrived, just having some small talk when David turned to Ron.

"So Ron, Hermione mentioned that you would be leaving tomorrow?"

Ron nodded slowly, glancing at Hermione, who was just looking at her food, as he tried to swallow the bite of pizza he had just taken. He had told Hermione that he might leave tomorrow but hadn't been sure if he was going to.

"Uh, yes most likely as long as you don't need my help here anymore."

"You're so kind to offer, but we are okay. As you saw, we left most of our belongings here so we are all set." Emily said, smiling sweetly at Ron. "I'm sure you are itching to get back home anyways."

Ron just nodded in agreement. It was true in the fact that he couldn't wait to get back home and to see his family and Harry. But on the other hand, he was also leaving Hermione behind. She would not be going to the burrow with him and after the past year and a half of being together almost every day, it felt very odd to know that he would not be with her.

A couple of hours later, everyone headed off to bed. David and Emily gave Ron hugs goodbye as they would be off early in the morning for shopping and getting their dental practice back up and running, and would not be here when Ron left. They also thanked him for accompanying their daughter on her quest to find them.

Hermione then showed Ron to his room for the night, which was right across from hers.

"So, I'll see you in the morning then?" Hermione asked rather quietly.

"Yeah. We can have breakfast if you'd like before I go. There's no need for me to rush home anyways." Ron responded.

Hermione nodded. "Yeah that sounds great."

She placed her hand on her door and slipped inside her room. Just before she shut the door, she told Ron goodnight and left Ron still standing in the hallway, staring at her closed door.

Hermione placed her back against her door and tried to calm herself down. She was feeling upset knowing that the time had come for Ron to leave and not knowing when she would see him again. The routine had always been, while they were in school, that near the end of their summer holidays, she would usually find herself at the burrow with the Weasley's and Harry until the start of term. Then they had the whole year together, sometimes only being apart for the Christmas holidays. But everything was different now.

She did not know what would happen when Ron left. She assumed that she would still see him and Harry, but for how long? They were adults now and would have to start looking for jobs and since there was a great possibility that they would not all work together, would they even have time to see each other?

The worst part about all of this though, was the fact that Hermione now knew that she and Ron will only ever be friends. She choked down a sob that tried to escape as she came upon this realization. Even though she never got the chance to talk to Ron about what happened during and shortly after the Battle of Hogwarts, she just knows that's all they will ever be. Yes, there was never a good time to ask while they were in Australia because tensions were high between them, but if they did care for one another as more than friends, than surely, it would've been talked about. But it never was and Ron never showed any type of intimacy towards her since the battle.

At this point, Hermione could no longer hold back the tears that started to stream down her face. She truly loved Ron and more than a friend, but she was positive that he did not return her feelings and it just broke her heart. So, she let herself cry.


	18. Chapter 18

Ron stared at Hermione's closed door for a few moments before he went into the guest room. He could tell that something was troubling Hermione but he wasn't sure what it was and that really bothered him. It was also annoying because he needed to talk to Hermione but the opportunity had yet to present itself as it never seemed like the right time and now he was going home tomorrow.

There were a lot of unanswered questions too regarding his departure. When would he see Hermione again now that they were no longer in school? Would she still come to the burrow to visit? How often will they attempt to see each other? Ron was so used to seeing his two best mates everyday starting with the last few weeks of the summer holiday until the last day of school, when they got off the Hogwarts express for the beginning of the next summer holiday. Now, they were adults and that changed things and he wasn't sure he liked that.

Ron started pacing in his room. He was too awake to even attempt to fall asleep but he was also burdened with everything going on between Hermione and him. He really needed to talk to her, to tell her everything. He wasn't sure how she might feel, but he knows he has to let her know how he feels, to get it off his chest. It's been this invisible weight that has been weighing him down as each day passed since the battle of Hogwarts. He knows that he has been a complete arse to Hermione and she did not deserve that but he was still grappling with his feelings and trying to come to terms with them. He wasn't sure how to go about them either as he had never felt anything like this before for someone. Everything was new and different and scary when it came to Hermione because of how much he cared for her.

Ron stopped pacing for a moment as he realized just how much he does care for Hermione. She wasn't just his best mate. She meant a whole lot more to him and he realized that he loved her. He probably has loved her for a while now. He knew back in the Chamber of secrets, when they kissed for the first time, that he liked her a lot but over the past few months, this realization crept up on him slowly until now. He loved Hermione and he desperately needed to tell her before he left tomorrow.

After Hermione let herself cry to the point where she couldn't cry anymore, she got up from the floor by her door, where she had sat down when she started crying. She made her way over to her windowsill that jutted out just enough to create a little nook that she could sit on and looked out her window.

It seemed like a nice night out. The moon was full and shining bright and all the stars were twinkling in the cloudless sky. The only noises were the crickets. Hermione rested her head against the cool glass of the window and tried to get her resolve together. She decided that she was not going to let herself get so upset over a boy. She was not going to be one of those girls that cares what a boy thinks of her or if he likes her. She was going to be stronger than that and she was sure that if Ron was not who she was going to be with, then there was someone else out there for her. Unfortunately, that thought did little to make her feel better.

But, just for tonight, she would let herself feel and deal with the pain, especially because it was so fresh. Her heart was broken for now. But tomorrow she wouldn't let anything bother her and she would put back the pieces of her heart and be stronger than before. This was just another test for her to pass. Just as Hermione was about to move from the windowsill into her bed, she heard a very soft knock and then her door was opening as she saw bright red hair and then Ron was standing in her room.

Hermione was frozen in place, unsure of what to do. She hadn't expected for Ron to come into her room this late. She quickly wiped away the few tears that were still on her cheeks as she watched Ron slowly and quietly shut her door and then he just stood there awkwardly staring at her and around the room. She hadn't shown him her room earlier and he seemed to be examining it a bit in what he could see from the moonlight streaming in since her lights were off.

After another minute of somewhat awkward and tense silence, Hermione asked Ron what was he doing in her room.

"Well I needed to talk to you and it couldn't wait until the morning."

Hermione waited for a couple of moments. "Okay well what is it?" She was actually starting to get frustrated with Ron for coming in here and then not talking to her. What could be so important that couldn't wait until tomorrow? And why was he being so awkward? They are best friends, they should be able to tell each other anything.

She watched as Ron took a deep breath and then run his hand through his hair before he started to rub his hands together, his usual nervous tick. She crossed her arms in annoyance.

"Look, Ron either spit it out or please leave. I need to get to sleep. It's late."

"Okay. Sorry. This is just harder than I thought it was going to be." Ron said as he took another deep breath, trying to steady his breathing and slow down his heart. It was beating so hard that he was surprised that Hermione couldn't hear it.

"Do you know why I came with you to help you find your parents?" Ron asked her as he finally lifted his head to look into her eyes.

She looked at him skeptically. "You said because you didn't want me to go alone and that we always do things together."

"Right." Ron nodded at her. "That is true. I didn't want you to go alone. It scared me to think of you all alone in a foreign country trying to find your parents by yourself. I wanted to help you but it's more than just that Hermione."

Hermione was just standing there by her windowsill, looking at Ron. She was frozen to the spot and she wasn't breathing evenly. _What is going on?_ She thought as she continued listening to Ron.

At this point, Ron started pacing in front of her door as he was getting to the big reveal of his feelings.

"I care a lot about you and I thought it was just because we've been best mates for the past seven years. It also didn't feel right how we were always there for Harry, following him around everywhere and anywhere to help him, as well as saving his ass half the time. We were always together, even more so than Harry and I. You always supported me with quidditch and school work or anything else. And then, the one time when you need to go and do something, we aren't there for you. That just doesn't seem like what friends would do. But that's getting off track." Ron said as he shook his head.

"Yes, but I didn't ask for you to come and help me…" Started Hermione as her brain started to function normally, when Ron held up his hand to silence her.

"Yes, you didn't ask for our help but neither did Harry and yet we always told him we were in this together though didn't we."

All Hermione could do was nod in return as she froze up again.

"The thing is Hermione, I care about you. And I care about you as more than a friend. I think I've had these feelings for a long time and just suppressed them because I didn't know what they were, until just recently actually."

Hermione shook her head as she seemed to finally catch her breath and she actually took a step towards Ron, almost not believing what she was hearing as she watched Ron's face and ears start to turn red.

"What are you saying Ron." She whispered as her stomach started doing flips.

"Hermione, I'm…I'm in love with you and I'm pretty sure I have been in love with you for a while now."

That was when Hermione took a step back. This couldn't be happening. This had to be a dream. This couldn't actually be happening. Did Ron really just tell her that he is in love with her? Hermione couldn't believe what she was hearing. She was starting to think he was playing some kind of cruel joke on her or that this dream was just too good to be true and that she was probably having it because she had so desperately wanted to hear Ron say these things to her.

"Hermione, are you okay? Did you hear what I said?" Ron asked nervously. He had watched as Hermione took a step back from him and her eyes kept darting back and forth from his face to the floor, like she was thinking very hard about either what he said or something else. He was now starting to doubt his decision to tell her his feelings. Clearly, she didn't reciprocate them and he knew that was a possibility, but that didn't stop it from hurting.

"Look, I'm going to go back to my room now and I'll leave you alone" He started as he ran a hand through his hair already, "I just wanted to tell you how I felt and I understand if you don't feel the same way. I just wanted you to know at least." Ron said quietly as he turned to grab the doorknob to open the door and leave, placing his other hand over his chest, where his heart was starting to break.

"Ron wait!" Hermione said as she finally realized that she wasn't dreaming and he wasn't having her on, that this was all real even if it was unbelievable.

Ron stopped and turned back to look at Hermione. They looked into each other's eyes for a moment before Hermione walked right up to him, threw her arms around his neck, and stood on her tiptoes as she pulled Ron's face towards her and kissed him right on the lips.

It didn't take Ron more than a second to wrap his arms around her waist and kiss her right back and passionately. He pulled her to him so that their bodies were flush against each other as they continued kissing. Hermione's hand were lighting gripping the back of his neck as he tangled one of his hands into her bushy hair. They both felt the sparks and the fireworks going off and it just felt right. Their lips fit perfectly together as if they were made for each other.

Finally, after a couple of minutes, they broke apart, both gasping for some air. Ron had a goofy smile on his face while Hermione's face was flushed pink but she had the brightest smile on her face as she looked at Ron.

"I'm in love with you too Ronald Weasley!"Hermione said softly.

Ron couldn't help that giant smile that broke across his face as he felt his chest swell a bit at hearing those words and he took her face into his hands and he kissed her again.


	19. Chapter 19

**Hey everyone! Sorry for the long delay in an update. I just recently got a puppy and he has been a handful to take care of and left me no time to really write/update. Anyways, we are almost done! Two more chapters after this one! Again thank you all for your follows/favorites/reviews!**

After a few minutes, Ron and Hermione finally stopped snogging and decided to just sit down on her bed and talk.

"So what now?" asked Hermione.

Ron took her hand as he answered. "Well, I've still got to head home and see my parents and let them know everything is alright."

Hermione's smile faded just slightly. She knew that Ron needed to go home and check in with his parents but it still saddened her that he was going to leave her, especially since they finally told each other how they felt and they were now dating.

Ron had just caught Hermione's smile fade when he had mentioned returning home. He didn't want to leave her either considering everything that just happened in the past ten minutes. So he tightened his hold on Hermione's hand and reached out his free hand and gently grabbed her chin to make sure she was looking at him.

"Hermione, don't worry. I will come back and you can always come and visit me. I don't want to leave you either but we will make this work. I promise you that." Ron said sincerely.

Tears sprang to Hermione's eyes at hearing Ron's words. He was just so sweet and she couldn't believe that her dream had come true. She nodded in response as she leaned in to give a chaste kiss to Ron. After that, they said goodnight to each other and Ron headed to his room.

Ron had to admit that this has been the best night of his life. He finally got the girl of his dreams and he never wanted to let her go.

At that sudden thought, Ron's eyes widened suddenly. He knew he loved Hermione and had been in love with her for a long time and just admitting that to her and having her return those sentiments was amazing. There just weren't enough words to describe the feeling it gave him. But now the realization set in about how deeply he actually cared for Hermione.

He could now easily picture their life together. Living somewhere in the country surrounded by their kids who might have his red colored hair, since it was such a dominant trait in the Weasley family, but they had Hermione's brains. It was just perfect and that was why he believed he had such strong feelings about wanting to be with her and never letting her go.

As Ron laid down on his bed, he placed his hands behind his head, as a plan began to form in his mind of what he needed to do to make sure that he can be with Hermione forever. Slowly, Ron started to drift off to sleep with a smile on his face.

Ron awoke after only a few hours of sleep and decided to head downstairs and make some coffee. It was just after 6:30 in the morning and he knew that Hermione's parents were going to be making their way down soon. He waved his wand around and got things started. He was actually starting to get nervous, as he waited for Hermione's parents to make their way downstairs.

They had told them yesterday, that they were going to get up early and head out to get back to their dental practice (whatever that is) and set things back up for them to reopen it which is why they had gone to bed so early. But after what happened last night, Ron had decided that he needed to talk to them and since he was already here, now was the best time to do it before he leaves in a few hours.

Right as he sat down and took his first sip, he heard some shuffling around the stairs and then both Mr. and Mrs. Granger came around the corner and into the kitchen. Mrs. Granger seemed a little startled to see Ron already up but both of them smiled at him.

"Ron, what are you doing up this early? And did you make some coffee?" Asked Mrs. Granger as she went ahead and checked out the coffee pot.

"Yes I did. And I just needed to talk to you guys before you left since by the time you return, I will be gone."

He waited until the Grangers' filled their coffee mugs and got whatever they wanted to eat for their breakfast before they took their seats at the kitchen table. Both of them had looks of curiosity on their faces, waiting to see what Ron felt the need to get up early and tell them.

As Ron looked into the Grangers' faces, he felt his stomach doing a million flips a minute and his hands were sweating like crazy as kept wiping them on his pajama bottoms. He didn't realize he was going to be so nervous but he should have known. What he wanted to ask them was a really big deal and their answer was more important than the question. It would determine his future. And it scared the bloody hell out of him.

After a moment, he could no longer stand sitting anymore and decided it would be easier for him to pace around the kitchen than just sit there.

"Ron, what is going on?" Asked David, in a sincere voice.

"Okay, you are probably going to think I'm a complete lunatic here but please just hear me out." Said Ron as he took some deep breaths to try and calm himself down.

The Grangers just glanced at each other before they nodded, deciding it was best to just give the young man a few moments to collect his thoughts and gather his courage. Whatever he had to say, must be very important for him to be acting as nervously as he was.

"So as you know, Hermione and I have been best friends for the past seven and a half years and I care deeply about her. But I care about her more than that of s friend. I love your daughter very much and last night…"

Ron lost his nerve right there. He didn't want to look at the Grangers and see what their faces may display as he just revealed how he felt about their daughter. But he knew he had no choice but to continue.

"And last night, I asked your daughter to be my girlfriend and she said yes. I've never felt more complete than I did when she agreed. I love your daughter so much and I will do everything I can to make her happy. I know this may seem foolish and you may think that I am being a complete git here for asking you guys for something as big as this so soon, but I know what I want. I love your daughter and I don't ever want to let her go. So what I'm asking for is your blessing. Will you give me your blessing to marry your daughter?"

This was when Ron looked at Hermione's parents and watched as they seemed to give each other knowing looks and they had on these suspicious smiles. Ron wasn't sure what was happening and in the nervous state that he was in, decided that he should continue to ramble on to explain himself because he would not be able to handle a rejection from them.

"I know this is really early since we just started dating but I have loved your daughter for a long time and didn't know if she ever felt the same way as me. I always thought that I wasn't good enough for her either. Always second best to Harry, the chosen one, or Viktor Krum, the international famous quidditch player. But I know I can make Hermione happy. I'm not asking for her hand now. That would be bloody insane." Ron stopped to let out a very nervous chuckle at that. "I just know I don't want to lose her and I can see myself with her forever. That is if she would take me of course."

Ron finally stopped his rambling. It seemed he had run out of words and steam as he took his seat and awaited his impending rejection. He realized how crazy he was for asking her parents for her hand in marriage when they only just started dating and her parents barely knew him. He was such an idiot. He knew his face was bright red all the up to the tips of his ears but he just didn't care. He probably just ruined every chance he had with Hermione.

Unbeknownst to Ron, Mr. and Mrs. Granger had the biggest smiles on their faces as they held hands. This had to be the sweetest thing they have ever seen and to hear the compassion and love that this young man had for their daughter was everything they could have hoped for. Was it extremely early on to be asking them for a blessing to marry their daughter? Absolutely. It was news to them that they apparently started dating last night but not necessarily a shock. They knew, specifically Mrs. Granger, that this was bound to happen at some point.

But they could hear the love in Ron's voice and the slight pleading there was to it as well, needing them to understand that he would do whatever he had to in order to ensure Hermione's happiness.

"Ron look at us." Said Emily gently.

Ron slowly looked at them and his faced showed his puzzlement at the smiles on their faces, completely beaming at him.

"You are right that this is crazy for you to be asking for our daughter's hand in marriage, especially since you just told us you only started dating last night." Said David who gave him a pointed stare.

Ron just nodded, feeling his blush rush to his cheeks again.

"But of course, we give our blessing Ron, whenever you and Hermione are ready to take the next step in your relationship. We know how she feels about it and now we know exactly how you feel." Stated Emily.

Ron could only stare there, mouth slightly open as he released a deep breath that he hadn't even realized he had been holding. Did he actually hear them say yes or were his ears deceiving him? He was so sure he misheard but they wouldn't be smiling at him the way they were if they said no right? Also, Emily seemed slightly teary-eyed as well.

David got up and gave Ron a pat on the back as Emily gave him a hug.

"I…wow…um…I don't know what to say." Ron was able to stammer out.

"How about a thank you." Said David as he let out a low chuckle.

"Thank you." Said Ron as he and Emily started laughing a bit too.

Shortly after, David and Emily made their way out of the kitchen as they had to head to work, leaving Ron at the kitchen table, replaying everything that had happened over the past eight hours, starting with him admitting his feelings to Hermione. What a roller coaster these last few hours had been but they had truly been the best he had ever had and something he would never forget.


	20. Chapter 20

Ron decided it was best to head back up to his bedroom for another hour or two before Hermione woke up. He figured it was too early for her still and he may as well get another hour or so of more rest before he apparated home. At least it was a one shot to the burrow and that gave him comfort. No more stop and go.

At about 7:30, a bright light was streaming into Hermione's room, starting to wake her up as it was shining right onto her face. She had forgotten to pull the curtains closed last night after she had sat in the window, after everything happened.

That was when Hermione bolted up and sat upright in her bed as all these memories flooded her mind. The memories of Ron coming into her room and admitting his feelings for her and then her telling him that she felt the same for him. The fact that they actually told each other that they were in love with each other, that they didn't just like each other. But after all these years of being best mates and then feelings becoming involved at some point, it just made sense that they were in love with each other. And their first kiss, since the Chamber! It was most definitely better than that one as this was more about passion and love and not about last chances and the imminent fear of death on the doorstep.

Hermione couldn't help the smile that grew on her face as she replayed the kiss in her head a few times. Then slowly the smile faded as she realized that Ron was leaving today to head back home to the burrow. She really didn't want him to leave but knew that he had to. He couldn't stay here with her and she doubted her parents or Mrs. Weasley would be okay with that.

With a sigh, she reluctantly pulled back the covers and got out of bed and glanced at her reflection in the mirror. Of course her hair was a bushy frizzy mess, but that was nothing new. But as she looked herself over in the mirror, she started thinking about what she should do. Should she get dressed and attempt to tame her hair? Or should she just stay in her pajamas? Ron had already seen her in her pajamas last night but things had changed between them and she didn't know what was best.

In the end, Hermione figured that she would leave her pajamas on and just brush out her hair. He wasn't going to be staying for long so it would be silly to get dressed up. He was going to stay for breakfast and be on his way. And it wasn't like this was the first time he had seen her in her pajamas before either.

Hermione quietly made her way downstairs, thinking it best to let Ron sleep a little longer while she got breakfast ready. She knew how grumpy and tired Ron could be and by putting it off a little longer, maybe she wouldn't have to deal with that side of him.

Hermione was just setting the table and thinking how she should go wake up Ron when he suddenly appeared in the kitchen with a soft smile on his face.

"Hey." He said.

"Hi. I was just about to go and wake you and let you know breakfast was ready." Hermione said as she waved her hand towards the table.

"This looks great." Ron responded as he took a seat across from Hermione. They ate in silence both unsure what to say to each other as the inevitable was coming within the next hour. They ate slowly just relishing the silence and being together without any awkwardness.

"MMM.. that was really good Hermione. Thank you." Said Ron as he stood up and grabbed his plate and reached around to grab Hermione's as well as he went to clean up.

"Oh you don't have to do that." Said Hermione as she started to stand up.

Ron and Hermione had a little dispute over the dishes, with Ron insisting since she made breakfast, it was only fair that he did the dishes. Hermione finally conceded and decided that she would let him do the dishes but she would dry and put away. Shortly after, they made their ways to their respective rooms so that they could change and prepare for Ron's departure.

A few minutes later, they were both downstairs standing in front of the front door.

"Well, this is it. I guess I'll just walk up the street to that intersection you mentioned and apparate from there." Ron said.

"Yes, as I have all the proper enchantments around the house, just for safety purposes." Hermione said as she shrugged.

They both looked at each other, starting to feel a little awkward at how this was supposed go. This was all new to them and since they both have neither been in a proper relationship, it was just weird.

"Hermione, I really don't know what to do…" started Ron as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Hermione looked at Ron and an idea popped into her head.

"Let's just do what makes us feel comfortable and not rush anything. We were always fine with each other as best friends and we still are, but more. So let's just continue on as normal and do what we think feels right." Hermione said as she grabbed Ron's hand and just held it.

Hermione couldn't help the blush that covered her cheeks at the small grin that appeared on Ron's face at her words. It made him look so adorable. Then Ron brought his arms around her and wrapped her in a hug in which he squeezed her tight and she squeezed him right back.

It was like everything in the world felt right. Ron felt so warm and she felt completely safe in his arms. This felt right and where she belonged was in Ron's arms. She took a deep breath and just inhaled the scent of him, relishing the short lived comfort of his body against hers.

After a few minutes, Ron broke the hug and leaned down and planted a kiss on Hermione's lips before he quickly pulled away much to Hermione's disappointment.

"Sorry, Hermione but I know if I keep kissing you, I won't be able to leave and it is already hard enough for me." He said as he rested his forehead against hers.

Hermione wanted to say that she understood but she ended up blurting out "That would be okay." Hermione's eyes widened as she became mortified at the truth of her words that just came bursting out. Ron pulled his head away and just started cracking up at her expression and her words. "Um, okay. What I meant was it would be okay if you did want to stay but I understand." Hermione finished up as she couldn't help but laugh along with Ron.

"Hermione, what if I come back in a few days and we, uh, we go out?"

Hermione started to smile. "Are you asking me on a date?"

Ron nodded yes and Hermione kissed him as she agreed. Ron then pulled Hermione into another quick hug, kissed the top of her head and then walked away. She stayed glued to the door step, never taking her eyes off of him as he walked to the end of the street. She wanted to make sure she saw him disapparate before she went back inside. She watched him reach the end of the street. He turned towards her and waved a hand in goodbye before he was gone. Hermione felt a tear slide down her cheek but it was only because she already missed him but overall, she was the happiest she had ever been in her life.

Within a few seconds, Ron appeared on the hill above the burrow. He took a minute to take in his surroundings and it felt good to recognize that he was back home. Although it felt different now and he knew why. It was because to him, Hermione was now his home and he was so lucky that she loved him back and he would make sure that he would prove himself worthy of her.

As Ron made his way to the burrow, he heard some voices that he recognized. It was Harry, Ginny, and George who were all hanging out on the lawn. The first thing that he noticed was that George was actually talking to his sister and Harry. He looked almost back to normal, his coloring was better although he still had dark bags under his eyes and looked thinner than Ron remembered. He was struggling to eat after everything and still seemed to be struggling but at least he seemed better. Ron also noticed that Ginny was leaning against Harry, which meant that they were back together.

The moment they saw Ron, all three of them jumped up and ran over to him excitably.

"Ron! You've come back! What happened?" Ginny asked as she pulled her brother into a hug.

"Yeah mate, what happened to sending an owl with updates? We've had no clue as to what the bloody hell was going on with the search." Harry said.

"Glad you made it back lil' bro. Everything alright?" asked George as he clapped Ron on the back.

Ron told them all the adventures that Hermione and he had gone on but he left out the part about him and Hermione now being together. He wanted to tell Harry in private because he didn't want his brother and sister to potentially tease him and he knew that Harry wouldn't.

Ginny, figuring that Ron needed to talk to Harry convinced George to go inside with her and Ron was grateful and he showed her that with his eyes. She just nodded as she kissed Harry on the cheek and walked into the house.

"What's up mate?" Harry asked.

"Hermione is my girlfriend." Ron blurted out. "I finally worked up the courage to tell her how I've felt about her, that I love her and she loves me back." Ron said with a smile spreading across his face.

"That's awesome Ron. Congratulations!" Harry said as he clapped his friend on the back.

"Thanks. But it's more than that Harry. You're the only one I trust right now to say this too, but I seriously love her so much. I've already asked her parents for their blessing in marrying her."

Ron watched as Harry's jaw dropped open and his eyes grew twice the size at this information. Ron wasn't surprised at Harry's reaction, as he had expected this.

"I'm not going to ask her to marry me right now so don't go getting any crazy ideas." Ron said slightly chuckling.

"Then why ask for that now? I mean what if it doesn't work out? I mean you guys always had so many ups and downs at school that it was difficult to keep up when you were friends and when you weren't. And did her parents say?"

"Her parents seemed pleased about it, oddly enough. They didn't seem upset or mad. It was like they knew or something. And we were younger then and we both didn't know how we felt and raging hormones and all. But Harry, I know she's the one. She is the only person that I've ever felt completely comfortable around and I just know that I will never find someone else like her. I know this will sound barmy but she's my other half. I feel complete with her. I always have even when we were just friends and I will do anything to make sure we make this work. I am not letting her go. I'm going to prove to her that I am good enough."

Ron watched as Harry smiled at him. "Ron, you are good enough. You have always been good enough. You just need to believe in yourself." He said as he placed his hand on Ron's shoulder. "You've always been brillant. We've both tried to tell you this for ages. Now you need to believe it.

"Thanks mate." Ron said as he felt his ears get hot from the blush that came upon hearing his best mate's words. That meant the world to him.


	21. Chapter 21

As soon as Ron disappeared from her sight, Hermione made her way back inside her house. It felt strange to her how much she already missed Ron and he had only been gone for no more than two minutes. It was crazy how being in a new relationship could change things so quickly. She had never missed him so much before and so soon after being apart. It would usually be about a month into their summer holidays and her parents returning to work after taking two weeks off to spend time with her that she would start to miss him.

It also was the first time since Hermione had been alone in what felt like a long time. In fact, it had been over a year since she had last been alone for any length of time. Usually right after term ended, they would return home and she would spend the two weeks with her parents, and then two weeks after that, she would head to the burrow and spend the rest of the summer there. The last year this happened was before sixth year and that was a year ago now.

After Dumbledore's death and making the decision that her and Ron would follow Harry on his quest for the horcruxes to defeat Voldemort, she had only spent three weeks here before she headed off to the burrow to start preparing for the journey they were about to embark on. It actually made her miss school now that Hermione was thinking about.

She had been really excited to continue her N.E.W.T classes and seeing how she would fair her seventh year, realizing that it was going to be her toughest yet. And although she knew that she made the right choice in going with Harry, she still missed school and felt weird about realizing that she was considered a drop out. That could potentially affect her chances of getting a job and if future employers asked why she didn't complete her schooling, she was sure they would understand that she fought in the second war against Voldemort and played an integral part in his downfall.

At this point, Hermione started thinking about the probability of finishing up her last year at Hogwarts. She didn't see why that couldn't happen. If she could send a letter to professor McGonagall and explain her situation, she would surely have the answer. She would only be a year older than the rest of the seventh years. She would be in some of the same classes as Ginny too! Hermione decided right then to run up to her room and grab some parchment and a quill and began to write out a letter to McGonagall about her returning for her seventh year. Hermione was really excited to think that she could go back.

When she was finished writing the letter, she realized she didn't have any way to send it as she didn't own an owl. If there was one thing she did regret, it was getting a cat over an owl at the start of her third year. Although she loved Crookshanks, having an owl came in handy when you have to send a letter. That was how she was able to communicate, especially during those summers with Ron. It was lucky that he had owls that he was able to use that she could use as well. Hermione sighed as she dragged a hand through her messy hair and realized that she would have to go to Diagon Alley and head to the owlery to send the letter.

A few hours later, Hermione was being shaken awake. She looked up and saw her mom standing above her, with a small smile.

"Well, hello sleepyhead. Have you been sleeping all day?" she asked with a small chuckle.

Hermione laughed as well. "No. I must have just passed out. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize dear. Did Ron get off okay?"

Hermione cast her eyes down. Even though everything was good with her and Ron, hell it was actually great, she still felt some sadness that he was gone. She nodded her head yes. She hadn't told her mom about her and Ron yet and realized how much she had been wanting to tell someone since last night. The best thing was that her mom knew all about Ron too.

"Mom, I want to tell you something." She said timidly as looked up at her mom. Her mom held her stare and nodded, silently requesting her to continue. "Ron and I are now together as in boyfriend and girlfriend. It happened last night." Hermione said as a huge smile spread across her face. It seemed as though she couldn't help herself anytime she thought back to what happened just last night.

Hermione's mother beamed at her and grabbed her daughter into a big hug as she slightly squealed in excitement for her daughter. Granted, she already knew from Ron telling her earlier this morning, but she didn't want Hermione to know that and then start asking questions as to why he happened to tell her as she would eventually find out for herself. And it was also just so nice to hear the pure joy and happiness in Hermione's face and voice when she told her. She hadn't wanted to ruin the moment for Hermione to tell her.

"Ahh Hermione, I am so very happy for you! I knew it would all happen when it was meant to be didn't I?" Emily said as she placed a hand on Hermione's shoulder.

Hermione nodded her head in agreement. It was true. Her mom had been her confidant since her feelings first surfaced for Ron. Of course, that made it a little more difficult for her mom to willingly send her daughter off to her crush's house for weeks at a time but considering they went to a boarding school and spent so much time together anyways, it didn't make too much of a difference. Nevertheless, Emily had always lent an ear when her daughter needed one and gave any advice Hermione needed.

There had been a couple of bad months just over a year ago when Ron had gotten girlfriend. Emily had never seen her daughter so devastated, especially because she had been pretty certain that Ron returned her feelings. Emily had held onto her daughter as she cried during that winter break and told her that she just needs to be patient and that if her and Ron are meant to be together, everything will work out. And now, a year or so later, everything had fallen into place.

"Mom, I am just so happy, you have no idea. I know it happened so fast but I am in love with him and he loves me too. I know you probably think that is ridiculous…"

"Hermione stop!" Emily interrupted with a smirk. "It is in no way ridiculous. You two have been best friends for years and over time feelings have developed and became even stronger as more time passed. You two grew up together and went through life changes as well as life threatening situations," Emily looked at her daughter with raised eyebrows and Hermione couldn't help but blush and had to look away for a moment "and those type of things can enhance feelings. I am not shocked at how you feel."

Hermione started to cry but they weren't sad tears, they were happy tears after hearing what her mom just said. "It's just crazy how fast this all happened. I actually given up on the idea of Ron and I before last night and I couldn't be happier. I really think he is the one. I know I've said it before but now that we are officially together, I actually believe it!"

Emily smiled. She could believe everything Hermione said and was so happy for her daughter. She had waited a long time to for her daughter to tell her about her and Ron and now it happened. And she already knew how Ron felt about her to daughter so to hear Hermione say the same things made her heart soar with love and pride.

"When will you see him again?" Emily asked.

"Next week. He asked me out so we can go on a proper first date." Hermione said blushing. "And I can't wait!"

The End

 **Thank you to everyone who had read, followed, and favorited this story from the beginning. I am so happy that I was able to write this story and hope that you enjoyed it!**


End file.
